High School DxD: Of Kings and Pawns
by A Writing Birb
Summary: (AU/OC&Canon-Centric Story) A new family enters Kuoh and, with them, comes plentiful trouble. From mercenaries to deranged zealots to even extradimensional forces, the challenges keep stacking up. Why does everything have it out for them? Is there something more to this unassuming family? (Contains numerous OC's) (First story author has written)
1. Prologue

_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_

 _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_

 _ **I do not own High School DxD**_ _ **or its canonical characters. Those**_ _ **belong**_ _ **to**_ _ **Ichiei Ishibumi**_ _ **solely.**_

* * *

 ** _Renewal._**

 **"** **My patience for this** **realm** **has run dry,"** declared a disembodied voice heard by all.

Confusion manifested within the worlds of life and death as the voice rang in the ears of all life and unlife with no discernible source. As the people and beasts of the worlds stood dazed and confused, uncertain of whom the voice belonged to or from where it was coming, the voice boomed once more: this time much louder than before and much more overpowering.

 **"** **My Vessel shall be the final thing you all will witness."**

Following these words, a blinding light brighter than any star consumed the sky. The light shone so impossibly bright, it may as well been the face of God. But was this God? If so, why is he speaking so direly and full of deific indifference? The people and beasts looked on in reverence and distress as the light engulfed them all, consuming mortal and immortal alike until all was an impossibly pure white.

 **"** **With this,** **y** **our existence shall become naught but a memory** **in my** **mind.** **Do not fear, for this was the ultimate destination for your very lives and afterli** **v** **es. You never had any choice in the matter, so sink into nothingness along with all of time and creation."**

Following this decree from the voice, a darkness darker than even the abyssal darkness of the eternal void itself enveloped what was once an impossible light in a way comparable to a beast devouring its prey whole, creating an absence of space and time. It had seemed that all had ended, reduced to less than nothing; then, inexplicably, an enormous mass teeming with fleeting light akin to the embers of a stubborn flame in defiance of being snuffed out emerged from the infinite darkness. Within it, two inklings of color could be seen before substance of many forms and colors weaved itself into the mass: a red blip of light and a hungering darkness.

The voice, now a glimmering light within a void of chaos encased by what seems to be infinity, questions the potential of the light beyond its own. Watching it through its domain, it anticipates the infinite possibilities that can come from the light beyond as numerous other lights swirl around it like an unfathomably complex solar system.

 **"** **It has begun,"** the voice said to itself with a voice comparable to a mighty thunderclap despite its lowered volume as it eagerly watched the light beyond swirl creation into itself once more, becoming one of the other countless masses of light that flocked around the largest light like moths to a flame.

 **"Another Renewal."**

* * *

 _ **That is it for the prologue. Sorry if it happened to be short. I didn't want it to run on too long.**_

 _ **As for me separating the prologue from the next chapter, it was something that was heavily triggering my OCD; so I had to make it a separate chapter.**_

 ** _I will be changing around some already established canon. I'm not sure how much exactly right off the bat, but I can say for certain that there are minor characters such as Penemue and Tamiel and some semi-major characters who don't really get much spotlight such as Ramiel who will become subject to my tweaking._**

 ** _I will do what I can to leave the main cast at least semi-consistent with how they are in canon._**

 ** _I am uncertain of how much I am willing to tell without spoiling what I have planned for this story, but there will be a multitude of new powers such as new magic types and exclusive abilities for angelic beings, characters that will greatly expand the roster of Fallen Angels, and concepts such as Nephilim._**


	2. Volume 1:Life 1

_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_

 _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_

 _ **I do not own High School DxD**_ _ **or its canonical characters. Those**_ _ **belong**_ _ **to**_ _ **Ichiei Ishibumi**_ _ **solely.**_

* * *

 ** _The Leaders' Summit… Delayed?_**

It had been roughly a week since the attack by the Fallen Angel Kokabiel. One would think that, with the threat gone, things would be calmer. That, however, was not the case. With a strong sense of distrust between the Three Factions of the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels, conflict is bound to ensue unless some form of closure is attained. In an attempt to avoid such a catastrophic event from happening, a secure meeting between the leaders of each faction was suggested to be a favorable method to clear the confusion.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 5:25 PM**

Within the ORC Club House, in a room bearing one full wall of windows that allowed plentiful light to illuminate the otherwise dim room, sat four Devils; two in single-person arm chairs with the other two sitting on a couch parallel to the arm chairs. They wore what seem to be standardized school attire consisting of a black button-down corset and a matching shoulder cape that covered the entire upper body save for the breasts and arms, those of which were covered by an underlying white long-sleeved button-down shirt with a black ribbon adorning the collar. Over the lower body was a white-accented magenta skirt that was partially overlapped by four cloth protrusions of the corset and only covered the upper thighs. There, between the four, sat a compound table consisting of two side tables that seemed to have been moved together specifically for this occasion.

"Alright. Practice session number 432 begins now," stated the President of the Occult Research Club, Rias Gremory, bearing flowing blood-red hair along with contrasting blue eyes, a beautiful round face, and a rather buxom build. She sat with her arms crossed and with a stern expression upon her face, which gave her eyes an overwhelmingly authoritative appearance. Beside her sat Sona Sitri, the President of the Student Council, possessing short black hair alongside violet eyes that held a reserved glare behind a pair of glasses, giving her the expression of cold calculation. Though she was nowhere near as buxom as Rias, she too was gifted with an attractively round face.

"I guess I'll start then," stated the Occult Research Club Vice-President and Queen of Rias's Peerage, Akeno Himejima, as she aligned a series of questions on paper. Akeno was a beautiful and buxom girl comparable to Rias who possessed long, black hair bound by an orange ribbon into a streaming ponytail that reached down to her lower legs and a gentle, yet entrancing, pair of violet eyes. "As an eyewitness to Kokabiel's assault, did you hear him state anything notable? Any particular names? Events maybe?"

Following this question, Rias responded with her answer in a stern voice as her crimson hair shimmered brilliantly in the light of the day. "The most notable thing I can recall is that he did so on his own accord, defying Azazel in his desire for war. After discovering that, it seemed less like a coordinated attack and more like a rebellious assault by a mad warmonger."

"Next question," followed the bespectacled Student Council Vice-President and Queen of Sona's Peerage, Tsubaki Shinra, who was taking a few seconds to select one of the questions at random. She was an endearing woman who possessed long black hair that reached down to her knees and a heterochromic pair of eyes: the left being violet and the right being a light brown. She held a womanly physique that overshadowed Sona's in curviness, but failed to compete against Rias's or Akeno's. Her expression was much like that of Sona's: still silence and stoic sternness. "Did Kokabiel have accomplices of, if any, notable rank?"

Sona, this time, followed through with a more detailed answer. "From the information I have gathered, Kokabiel was aided by two discharged members of the Church. One was Valper Galilei, who was murdered by Kokabiel during the confrontation. The other was Freed Sellzen, who was retrieved by the bearer of the Vanishing Dragon. Aside from those two, there were no other allies of Kokabiel."

Attention was set back to Rias and Akeno as the latter introduced the next question. "Did Kokabiel possess any abnormal it-" she began before being cut off by a glowing circle encrypted with a plethora of odd insignias and patterns appearing beside the four Devils.

The four stood up out of surprise, not expecting any visitors whatsoever. They even made it clear to their friends and relatives that they needed absolute concentration for the matter at hand. They then noticed that, materializing from the circle, was Grayfia Lucifuge.

Grayfia held upon her head silver hair that extended down to her back and consisted of four blue-bow-adorned braids: two smaller ones to the sides of her head and two much larger ones fluttering behind her. Her eyes possessed a red hue much like that of Rias's hair; they held a much gentler aura that mixed well with her passive expression. She was as buxom and beautiful as, if not more so than, Rias and Akeno; this was more than likely due to her more developed body with her being much older than the two. Her attire was an odd choice, that being a blue maid outfit with sections of white around her breasts and waist. She held her hands in front of and down by her waist as often seen with maids.

"I apologize for interfering with your rehearsals, but Sirzechs sent me to deliver a message," Grayfia spoke; her hair becoming a shimmering white light as it reflected the sunlight. "Due to some unexpected mishaps that I must refrain from telling you about, Sirzechs and Serafall have postponed the meeting until a later date."

Sirzechs and Serafall, two of the Four Great Satans who preside over the Underworld, postponing the summit between the Faction leaders? What could possibly be so important that requires such a pivotal conference to be pushed aside in favor of it? Questions of similar nature clouded within the four young Devils' heads and sent them into a collective state of distress.

Their faces shifted to that of concern with Sona's and Rias's displaying the most emotion as the two aforementioned individuals were their older siblings: Sirzechs Lucifer being the older brother of Rias and Serafall Leviathan being the older sister of Sona. While it was common for Sirzechs to make light of most situations due to his immense power and that Serafall's child-like demeanor would somewhat cloud her judgment, it seemed odd that both he and Serafall would set aside such a pivotal conference for anything and for the other two Satans to go along with the decision. The air was still as a feeling of fear choked the four young Devils until Rias broke the silence.

"But why? Why would they do that?" Rias asked before concern flooded her mind. "Did something happen back in the Underworld?" she asked, her stern gaze transforming into one of worry.

"Sirzechs and Serafall requested that I refrain from explaining their reasoning. I'm afraid I can't answer your questions," Grayfia answered; still keeping a gentle look in her eyes before raising her hand to signal that she had more to say. "I understand that you are concerned, but I can't do much of anything about that right now. I would recommend using this time to practice more. It is important, however, to not let word of this get out to others; which is why I came to you in person as to not allow any eavesdropping."

"Can you perhaps tell us the amount of time we have remaining, if anything?" Sona Sitri questioned; adjusting her glasses while keeping her sophisticated posture and expression.

"Ah, yes," Grayfia answered with a slight bow. "Sirzechs said that the delay should extend your preparation time by, at most, two weeks. I would recommend you treat it as if you had only a few days to prepare, though. Depending on how quickly the matter is resolved, the delay may take as little as five days," the silver-haired maiden suggested. "With that being said, I'll leave you to your rehearsals."

Grayfia, having relayed the short message, turned back and faced a wall. With a mere wave of her hand, that same circle of magical energy appeared in front of her feet. Before even being able to take a single step forward into the circle, Rias intervened with yet another question.

"Can you at least tell me if Sirzechs is in any danger?" she asked with a gradually worsening sense of dread.

"You don't need to worry about that, Rias," Grayfia answered with a gentle smile and a calm tone in an attempt at soothing the girl. "There is not much I can think of that can threaten a Satan. Now chin up, that look is rather unbecoming of you."

With that being said, Grayfia stepped into the circle she had prepared. Her body quickly disappeared into a bright light as she warped herself back to the Underworld; leaving the four young Devils with several questions of which would have to remain unanswered.

* * *

A deafening silence fell among the four as they looked to and away from each other, trying to get a read on what the other was thinking.

Akeno held a relatively unfazed outlook on the situation, feeling certain that there was nothing to be concerned for.

Rias and Sona, while initially thinking the same as Akeno, couldn't help but succumb to worry as they began to delve deep into thought.

As for Tsubaki, her concerns lied more with the inter-factional consequences of this action than with family matters.

Sona paced around with her hand held up to her chin while Rias sat upon the couch opposite to the window and stared off into the outside world.

"Just a little bump in the road that the Satans will tend to? I don't see why it was worth sending Grayfia to us in-person." Akeno thought with a confident smile before turning to look at Rias; her dire expression conveyed an obvious message. "Oh my, oh my, President's getting a little worried."

"Postponing this meeting on such short notice… What will the Angels and Fallen Angels think of this? If worse comes to worse, the other factions may take this as an opportunity to attack," Tsubaki thought before looking towards Akeno and her confident smile. "How is Himejima so calm about this?"

"Something terrible is heading our way, I can feel it. The fact that there is something that required both he and Serafall to prioritize it over the Leaders' Summit..." Rias thought; her face growing more malformed by distress. "No. What am I thinking? If he, Serafall, and the other two Satans are tackling the problem, there is no need for concern," Rias mentally reassured herself and put back on a smile before looking towards Sona, who was still pacing.

"If there is something that can become the top priority of two Satans that quickly, then we may need to prepare for the worst. Hmm," Sona thought as she paced; eventually working out a course of action after a brief moment of pacing. "We will need to up our training intensity in case of an attack. Even if the threat is minimal, we must convey the message that we are not a helpless target to be taken advantage of," she thought before raising her head from her chin.

She looked towards Rias to get a semblance of a read on her thoughts. Her newfound smile transferred a message to Sona; it was one that she was not all to willing to accept. "She's probably taking solace in thinking Sirzechs and my sister have everything covered. While there is plentiful merit to the thought, preparations must be considered," Sona thought before she made her way towards Rias, adjusting her glasses once more along the way, and sat down beside her.

"While Sirzechs and Serafall may have this situation under control, it would be wise to consider intensifying our peerages' training as a precaution. It would be rather unfortunate to be attacked by an unexpected threat if our siblings are unable to come to our aid," said Sona, finally breaking the silence in the room.

Rias simply responded with a nod and a smile before turning her head towards Akeno, who was standing close by the couch. "Akeno, would you be a dear let the others know that we will need to go over our training plans in the club house tonight at 9:00 PM?"

"Alrighty then, President," Akeno answered as she began to exit the room, her long, black ribbon of hair trailing behind her as she did so.

"Shinra, I require you to do the same: same time and place," said Sona to Tsubaki, who was sorting out the papers they were using for practice on the compounded table.

"Understood, President," Tsubaki replied as she followed behind Akeno with the papers still in hand, looking over them while doing so to see if everything was in order.

Once the two had left, Sona looked towards Rias once more. There was an unspoken stalemate of perspectives: Sona bearing a serious aura while Rias bore a more casual one. This prodded Sona to speak to Rias in a rather strict tone of voice. "For our best interests, it would be wise to forgo leniency with your servants. We may need all the strength we can muster if the situation gets worse." She removed her glasses and began cleaning the lens with a small cloth stashed in her clothing.

"I'm planning on being a little stricter with them... at least until this blows over, that is. Don't worry about it so much, Sona," Rias responded with a smile and a cheery tone. "The situation may look dire, but I'm certain our leaders have this under control."

"That may be the case," said Sona as she placed her glasses back on her face and swept stray strands of her dark air out of her face. "But I feel that preparations for the worst must always be considered even in the most secure of situations."

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 9:00 PM**

Within the very same room, the respective Peerages of both Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory united. They had divided themselves along an invisible line, separating the seven servants of Rias from the seven servants of Sona.

"Everyone here?" questioned Rias, peering left and right into both crowds of servants to get a head count.

Sona's Peerage stood adjacent to Rias's and closer to the wall opposite from the massive window in a tight-knit formation.

Leading the formation and standing before Sona was the Student Council Vice-President, Tsubaki Shinra; she had to take time to clean her glasses as she awaited Sona's announcement. She, much like the rest of the females gathered here today, still wore their student attire despite their instructional times having concluded several hours ago.

Behind and to the left of Tsubaki stood one of Sona's two Bishops, Momo Hanakai. She was an attractive woman possessing a fairly endowed and feminine build. While not anywhere near the leagues of Rias and Akeno in regards to curviness, she was possibly the curviest of the Student Council. Her hair was of wavy white locks that flowed slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes were of a gentle hue, being of the blue-green variety, accompanied by a soothing natural gaze. She stood with a complacent expression upon her face.

Adjacent to Momo was Sona's second Bishop, Reya Kusaka. She was a slim girl compared to those she had surrounded herself with. Despite that, she was not the least endowed of the council; far surpassing Tomoe and Ruruko while slightly surpassing Tsubasa. She possessed red-brown hair held back by a blue headband and divided into two braids reaching down to her mid-back accompanied by eyes of a passive brown hue set in a compliant glare. She stood with her hands low and behind her back as she awaited Sona's orders.

Behind Momo stood Tsubasa Yura, Sona's only Rook. Tsubasa was a tall girl with a face that could pass off as either a feminine male or masculine female in appearance. She possessed blue, shoulder-length hair fashioned with a prominent tuft on the right side complemented by dark-blue eyes. She, in particular, wore her sleeves rolled up as if she had just finished conducting physical labor. She stood with her arms crossed and with a fire in her eyes akin to that a warrior preparing for a fight.

Beside Tsubasa stood Tomoe Meguri, Sona's only Knight. Tomoe was a girl of an average build bearing reddish-brown hair tied into two puffy pigtails. Whatever hair was not tied up turned into sweeping bangs and a tuft of stray hair protruding from the top of her head. Her hair swayed slightly alongside her rhythmic bobbing back and forth as if she was incapable of stillness. Her eyes were vibrant and brown; brimming with an energetic vibe that overshadowed the rest of the council and even some of the more charismatic members of the Occult Research Club.

To the left and center of Momo and Tsubasa stood Ruruko Nimura, one of Sona's two Pawns. Her hair was of a brown hue adorned with two green hair clips, those of which matched her eyes, and tied into two long ponytails with one on each side of her head. She, much like Tomoe, seemed more energetic than the other members; but failed to outshine her in that regard. She was, however, far more expressive than the rest of the council when it came to attire; wearing green striped stockings instead of walking around with the standard student uniform. Her expression, while initially seeming serious and concerned, was actually one of confident anticipation.

On the opposite side, to the right and center of Reya and Tomoe, stood Sona's second Pawn, Genshirou Saji. Being the only male member of the council, he was the metaphorical black sheep in the herd. He wore the male variation of the standardized Kuoh Academy uniform. In this outfit, the colors, black bow, and white shirt were the only constants; the corset and shoulder cape combo, however, was replaced with a black blazer alongside a matching pair of pants instead of a skirt. In Genshirou's case, however, he forgoed the blazer. Attire aside, he held upon his head short, blonde, and comparatively wild hair alongside gray eyes. He possessed a rather average physique; not showing much muscle at all, but being far from spindly and frail. He stood with his hands raised and pressed to his back with a stern gaze.

* * *

In contrast to Sona's grouping, Rias's Peerage was grouped in an unorganized cluster that stood closer to the massive window.

Within Rias's group, somewhere within the central region of the cluster, stood the Occult Research Club Vice-President, Akeno Himejima; who bided her time by running her hand through her hair as she patiently awaited her superior's announcement.

Next stood Yuuto Kiba, one of Rias's two Knights. Yuuto was a dashingly handsome man viewed as the pinnacle of the male student population by the female students in Kuoh Academy. He possessed short blonde hair and vivid blue eyes; the left one bearing a mole below it. He possessed a somewhat feminine face that drove women crazy and a graceful physique that added to his suave aura. He held a gentle and confident smile on his face as he stood with one hand on his hip. He was the only one in both groups that wore the full male Kuoh Academy Student outfit as every other male had some form of variation.

Next stood Xenovia Quarta, Rias's other Knight. Xenovia was a girl with a strikingly serious expression plastered upon her face. She had a head of chin-length, bright-blue hair with one green-dyed streak hanging in front of the right side of her face. Her eyes were of a brown hue and were trained onto Rias as she silently awaited Rias's announcement. Her expression was that of a glare so deathly serious, one would think her life depended on this very meeting.

Next stood Rias's only Rook, Koneko Toujou. Koneko was a rather short and dainty girl that bore a quite frail-looking physique while being one of, if not the least, endowed girls out of both the Occult Research Club and the Student Council, bearing pretty much no bust whatsoever. Her roughly shoulder-length hair was of a pure white hue and was adorned with little, contrasting black cat hairclips on each side of her head. She stood with a content expression with striking, round, golden eyes and a lollipop firmly held in her mouth. Alongside this, she forgoed the shoulder cape of the standardized female student attire, making her look stand out a bit more than some of the others.

Next stood Asia Argento, one of Rias's Bishops. Asia was a girl with a fairly small stature and a head of long, blonde hair that extends down to her mid-back. Her eyes were rather round when compared to the rest of Rias's servants; only being outdone in that area by Koneko. Her fashion, much like Koneko, stood out much more than the rest of the group. Instead of the shoulder cape and corset, she wore a black sweater vest. She held her hands at her waist with an expression of uncertainty and concern.

Next stood Issei Hyoudou… was how this would've gone had he actually been present. Speaking of which, Gasper Vladi was absent as well.

* * *

Sona was keen enough to be the first to notice their absence. Her expression soured from stern to disappointment at a rapid rate as she let out a loud sigh. She rested her face in the palm of her hand. "And where, exactly, is Hyoudou and Vladi?"

"Apologies, Miss Sitri. Issei and Gasper had to wrap up their current training session and should be on their way here as we speak," answered Yuuto.

"The idiot's probably having Gasper do something perverted," retorted Koneko with an annoyed tone.

"You do realize that you're going to need to crack down on Hyoudou quite substantially if this is going to work?" Sona asked Rias with her face still cupped in her hand.

"Yes, I know that." responded Rias while giving a mildly disappointed sigh. "Oh Ise, of all the times you could do this... Akeno, I need you to retrie-" Rias began as the door flung open for two individuals, one being Issei and the other being what was assumed to be Gasper.

Issei Hyoudou, Rias's only Pawn, was a guy bearing an average physique. His hair was spiky and of a brown hue. His eyes, too, were brown. Overall, he seemed the most average out of the entire group. It was as if he was just some average guy from within Kuoh who had somehow managed to get tied up with this group. Much like Genshirou, Issei inputted a little individuality into the male student attire by wearing a red T-shirt under the blazer.

Gasper Vladi, Rias's other Bishop, was a rather petite girl being flatter than even Koneko; which was a feat in and of itself. She was also fairly expressive with her attire; wearing black thigh-high socks. Not much could be made of her facial appearance due to her rather abnormal choice of headwear; that being a cardboard box with eye cut-outs. Why is she wearing a box? No one knows.

"Sorry we're late. Had some trainin' we needed to finish," Issei stated in a hurried fashion as he and Gasper quickly associated themselves with the cluster.

"You need to be locked up," retorted Koneko while fiercely staring a hole through Issei's head.

Sona's group looked towards the two, taking some time to process the sight they were witnessing. The short moment of intent staring came to a halt once Genshirou vocalized his confusion with a question. "Why is she wearing a box on her head?" asked Genshirou on behalf of the rest of Sona's peerage. To which Xenovia responded.

"Gasper is afraid of confrontation, so the box is a form of coping mechanism," Xenovia paused before looking towards Genshirou. "Also, Gasper is a male; not a female."

This news was beyond jarring; but it was the truth. **Gasper, despite dressing himself in the female student attire, was indeed a boy.**

"Excuse me, what?" shouted Genshirou; his eyes fully opened as he turned to look at Xenovia then back to Gasper.

"He is also a Dhampir. You know? The day-walking kind of vampires," added Akeno, who fixated her attention on Genshirou's expression and held back her laughter.

After hearing this, Genshirou took a brief moment to relax before placing his palm against his forehead with his fingers running through his hair. Having calmed down after the initial shock, he asked while turning his attention to Akeno. "What's next: he's a Sacred Gear user?"

"Actually, yes," said Akeno while giving a smile with a predatorial glimmer in her otherwise pleasant eyes.

Gasper cowered behind Issei after hearing Genshirou shout so suddenly. His box had fallen from his head mid-retreat; revealing his true appearance. He had a very feminine face and pointed ears typical of a vampire. His hair was short and platinum-blonde in color alongside rather abnormal pink eyes: not referring to the contagious eye infection, of course. He was visibly terrified and tearing up as he stood behind Issei.

Genshirou's outburst earned an irritated groan from Sona; who had finally removed her hand from her face and stood with crossed arms. "Saji Genshirou, control yourself. You're embarrassing yourself again," said Sona with a forceful voice.

"Understood, President. I apologize for reacting so excessively," Genshirou said as he straightened himself out and gave a bow towards Sona.

Sona, in return, gave an annoyed sigh.

Rias, seeing an opportunity, tilted her head towards Sona with a smile. "Looks like you may need to crack down on Saji a little more," Rias playfully goaded.

Sona stood blankly and silently for a few seconds before letting out a second sigh. "Rias, now is not the time for this," she muttered before turning her attention towards her group.

"Now that we have Vladi's introduction out of the way, we can get on to what I and Rias gathered you here for," Sona began as she readjusted her glasses. "We have come to a decision to intensify each of your training regiments. I'm certain that our Queens' messages are still fresh in your minds, so I'll skip the explanation. Since my group will focus on creating a barrier around the conference area, we are going to push the limits of our magical capabilities. Each of us will practice protecting certain objects from attacks that will progressively get more powerful as we train. Where we will get the attackers we need is where Rias will come in. She and her servants will train alongside us, serving as the forces we need to protect the designated objects from. From this mutual trade-off between our groups, we will reach greater heights in a rather short span of time. The training will be constant, going from 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM everyday starting tomorrow and until the summit. It would be advised to rest well tonight; the first few days of training will most likely be the most daunting," announced Sona with conviction and authority.

Everyone but Gasper nodded in agreement; Gasper was, instead, paralyzed with a mortified expression on his face. "I-I can't do that!" shouted the terrified Dhampir; running to the corner furthest from everyone **literally** within the blink of an eye. When the groups got a visual on Gasper once more, he was seen hunched over in the corner; shivering intensely as gibberish sewed from his mouth.

"Hey, buddy," Issei spoke gently as he approached the terrified vampire. Once by Gasper, Issei slowly began to sit down beside him. "Don't worry, they aren't gonna hurt you. They're just gonna be making barriers to protect things and all we have to do is hit the barriers 'til they break. Nobody's hurtin' anyone," Issei said to Gasper, smiling in an attempt at calming him despite the fact that, on the inside, Issei couldn't believe in the possibility that pain wouldn't be involved.

"Is-Is that true?" Gasper asked as he looked up and towards Sona for confirmation.

"That is the gist of it, I suppose," replied Sona as she moved one of her crossed arms up towards her glasses and adjusted them.

"Al-Alright, I think I can do that," Gasper said as he stood back up.

"Then it is settled," stated Rias with a loud clap. "This concludes our meeting. I wish you all a restful night. We're going to need all of the energy we can get."

* * *

 _ **That wraps up the first actual chapter in this story. I apologize if it seemed short and uneventful.**_

 _ **I'm planning on dipping in and out of the canonical story line and changing a few things here and there in order to gain some footing. As stated before, I'm entirely new to this and have little idea concerning what I'm doing. So advice and criticism would be very much appreciated. Thank you for reading my mediocre (at best) first chapter.**_


	3. Volume 1:Life 2

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **The Kasai Duo Makes Their Debut!**_

 **Kuoh Academy Classroom, 9:45 AM**

The following morning, the day goes on just as any other. Cut to Issei sitting in class, waiting for it to start. He, Xenovia, and Asia had got to class rather early: not even the teacher was present at the time.

"Ugh, I am not lookin' forward to this," Issei thought. His face morphed into an exhausted expression at the thought of having to train seven hours straight for several days straight. "It's a necessary evil, I guess. Don't wanna get my ass kicked by another nutcase 'cause I flunked my training. Prez would be so pissed if that were to happen." Issei shuddered at the thought of Rias looking down at him with ceaseless fury.

"Are you okay, Issei?" asked Asia. "You seem unwell."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a rough time sleepin' I guess," Issei lied, hoping that by hiding his reluctance Asia's spirits would be kept up. Unfortunately, he completely forgot that she had slept by his side last night.

"But you fell asleep the moment you hit the bed," Asia refuted before holding her hands up to her mouth with an expression of deep worry. "Oh no, did I keep you awake in the middle of the night? I'm so sorry!"

"No, no. You didn't do anything." Issei said as he put a hand on Asia's shoulder. "Ddraig-" he began before being cut off by a thundering voice within his own head.

"Don't you dare put the blame on me for this, Hyoudou," spoke Ddraig, The Red Dragon Emperor. Ddraig was a mighty red dragon held in high regards throughout the worlds of life and death as one of the most powerful beings within existence. Rather ironic that such a revered being has been bound to someone as undisciplined as Issei, but fate is fate.

"What about Ddraig?" Asia asked, her eyes widened with intrigue.

"Uhhhhhh," Issei dragged on before conceding and telling the truth, incapable of coming up with a lie to cover himself. "Did I say Ddraig? I meant I'm just a little anxious about the change of pace."

"Oh, that. I see," Asia said as she lowered her head and began stroking her blonde hair. "I was hoping I wasn't the only one."

"I hope that doesn't prove to be problematic considering what we have planned later," said Xenovia, carefully avoiding blatantly talking about their training out in public.

Suddenly, a slam on Issei's desk jolts him awake. It was Matsuda with Motohama by his side. It was uncertain how, but they managed so sneak their way in while avoiding Xenovia's diligent senses. The two harbored an ireful look in their eyes and grit teeth.

The two were of the infamous Perverted Trio that was well-despised around Kuoh Academy and more often than not avoided by most, if not all, female students. The third piece to this puzzle was none other than Issei Hyoudou, who was making his way with the ORC; this filled the two with immense envy.

Matsuda was a guy bearing a shaven head with the stubble of his original bright brown hair forming a filled contour on his head. As a result, his ears were made rather prominent compared to the average student. Alongside that, his eyebrows were a fair bit bushy.

As for Motohama, he bore short messy brown hair with bangs that would often hang slightly over his face and some sizable glasses on his face, almost completely blotting out any view of his eyes with what seemed to be a constant glare of reflected light.

"God dammit Issei! First ya go and take more hotties than there are fingers on my hand 'n then ya go 'n make _plans_ with 'em behind our backs!" Matsuda shouted. "Everyday I feel like I know ya less the more ya pull this shit!"

"What cult did you go to that allowed you to defy the laws of the universe like this? I would be willing to trade an arm just to get what you're having!" Motohama followed.

This behavior from his only two human friends had become fairly commonplace for Issei after his reincarnation as a Devil, but that didn't mean that it was appreciated.

"Fuckin' Hell guys! Did ya have to give me a heart attack before ya could yell at me?" Issei retorted after recovering from the shock of Matsuda striking his desk. "Besides, we ain't plannin' what ya guys think-" Issei barked back before being interrupted by a noise coming from outside the classroom.

The sound echoed through the mostly empty classroom. The clamoring and shrieking of not only girls, but guys filled the room through the closed door. Issei, Xenovia, and Asia made their way to the door, afraid of what they would see on the other side.

"What the Hell? Are we being attacked in broad daylight?" Issei thought as he made his way to the door while somewhat straining his left arm in preparation for a fight. "I'm not pickin' up on any odd energy."

"It would be difficult to wipe the memories of an entire school without any stragglers; if these attackers are supernatural, we might not have a choice in the matter," Xenovia thought as she followed behind Issei with a look of killing intent in her eyes, trigger finger primed on summoning her Holy Sword, Durandal, at any moment.

"Why is everyone screaming? I hope no one is hurt," thought little Asia as she followed carefully behind Xenovia and Issei.

The three stood by the door, trying to get a read on what was happening. What they heard surprised them. Instead of panic and fear, they heard adoration and praise. Confused, but relieved, the three dropped their guard.

"Dammit Kiba. Is the world tryin' to give me a heart attack today?" Issei thought.

"Ah, that's probably those Kasai guys. Haven't even been here a full day and they have already become popular," stated Motohama.

"I haven't even seen what they look like. Heard people talkin' about 'em a few of hours ago, though," Matsuda added.

"I recall hearing that one of them is an absolute beauty with a face so gentle, it could melt your heart," Motohama said with a heightened voice and ecstatic glimmer in his eyes.

"Kasai?" the three Devils simultaneously thought before Issei swiftly opened the door.

Beyond the door was a crowd of students, both male and female, clamoring around something hidden within the mass of students.

"Damn. He wasn't kiddin' about the popularity thing. I'll be surprised if they can make it to their next class on time," Issei thought, not realizing the mass was heading to their classroom until Asia pointed it out.

"New classmates? How lovely," Asia remarked with an energetic smile.

A calm and serene voice akin to a harp was heard among the clamor. It was near impossible to understand what was said, but it must have been along the lines of "We need to get to class" since the crowd parted to let them through. Then, Issei saw them emerge from the sea of students. A brother and a sister walking side-by-side.

To the left was the brother who seemed to be only a few inches taller than Issei. While Kiba was nicknamed Prince due to being a pretty-boy and a gentleman, the man looked like he was a legitimate prince. His skin was pale enough for him to be mistaken for a shut-in, but it somehow looked good on him. His facial features, most notably his eyes, were sharp in not only appearance, but in their gaze. To add to that, the man was gifted with intense amber colored eyes, those of which were complimented by contrasting black hair that reached down to his chin at the longest point. His physique, however, was rather average: not bulging with muscle, but not pathetically frail either.

Issei then turned his gaze to the sister and immediately noticed that the brother only reached up to the lowest point of her collarbone. Had the taller students not been in the way, Issei would've seen her first. Her skin was slightly darker than the brother's. Her facial structure was oval-like with rounder blue eyes, as compared to the brother's eyes, and a comforting smile. Her hair was black, just like the brother, and reached down to her mid-back. She had a rather womanly physique with an impressive bust. Put simply she looked like a beautiful, gentle giant.

They both donned the typical Kuoh student attire, but each had their own flair. The sister wore a large sized outfit due to her abnormal height and the brother wore black gloves on his hands and a black bow-tie in place of the bow itself.

"Great… another Kiba," said Motohama with a defeated tone while slouching over. "Can't we catch a break?"

"What's next Issei? Gonna take her too?" retorted Matsuda with a spiteful glare.

One of the girls within the crowd noticed Issei in the doorway and tugged on both of the black-haired siblings' arms. The hallway, now less of a clamoring paparazzi, was quiet enough for Issei to hear what was being said.

"Whatever you do, stay away from that... that thing over there," the girl said as she pointed directly at Issei. "As of lately, he's been taking the popular and gorgeous students and turning them into some... I don't even know," the girl said before looking towards the brother with puppy-dog eyes. "I don't know what black magic is involved here, but I don't want him taking you two next."

"Now, now, I'm certain it can't be that bad," stated the tall woman with a voice that was as gentle as a mother's lullaby and a pure smile.

"You don't even know the half of it. He is one of the three most perverted people in this school. He is constantly peeping in on girls with the two other freaks and doing other unspeakable things out of our sight," the girl replied.

This seemed to set something off in the brother as evidenced by his reaction. He looked towards Issei, narrowing his already sharp eyes and frowning in a gesture of great disgust. He looked like a king about to personally send a traitorous knight to death. The glare sent a chill down Issei's spine.

"Great, I'm already on that guy's shit-list before I've even gotten a chance to talk to him," Issei thought.

"I see... so he's hormonal. I don't see why that serves as grounds for so much hate; every boy is hormonal now and then. Remember, boys finish puberty later than girls and may lag behind into their adult years. Maybe he needs someone to vent his emotions out to," the woman said in defense of Issei as she looked towards him and waved.

Issei's worries of the brother's bone-chilling stare were now replaced by a warm feeling of safety as a result of the sister's words. "I know you're dead, but thank you God for sending this open-minded angel to my school," Issei thought with a smile, which promptly contorted to mild anguish as he felt a sharp pain in his head. "Dammit! You'd think I'd learn by now," he thought.

"Just please be careful. I don't want you two to be corrupted as well," the girl said before parting ways along with the rest of the crowd as to not see their perceived infection of the two.

The siblings entered the classroom with the brother cutting that menacing glare towards Issei the entire time the sister passed by him. The sister, mid-stride, turned towards Issei and gave him another wave. The moment lasted only a few seconds, but Issei felt all the worries of today wash away. Once she passed him, the man followed after. He kept his glare trained on Issei's eyes, once again setting Issei on edge.

"Cut me some slack, man. Your sister seems to get it," Issei muttered quietly, not expecting the abnormal-eyed brother to hear his remark.

The brother, to Issei's dismay, stopped in his tracks and aggressively moved towards him. He stopped roughly a foot away from Issei as he looked down at him in disgust before uttering the first words the perverted Devil would ever hear him say.

"My sister is the most passive and positive person I know and may ever come to know. She fails to harbor any aggression towards even the most disdainful of personalities and would rather befriend them in any way she can," the man said in a suave voice before bending over slightly to meet-eye level with Issei. "Comparing me to her, temperament-wise, is akin to comparing the embers of a match to the blazing inferno within the core of a volcano. Stay away from my sister and we can avoid any unpleasant altercations, you lecher. Do tell your two lecherous friends, wherever they may be, that as well whenever you get the chance. I do not wish to repeat myself."

While it would've been a three-on-one argument, the glare from the brother's eyes were enough to dissuade Motohama and his choice of vocabulary scared Matsuda. So there they stood in the background, quiet as mice in hopes of not drawing attention to themselves.

Asia, in fear of a fist-fight breaking out between the two, stepped between them and pleaded to the man. "Please don't think of him harshly. He may be perverted, but he isn't a bad person. I swear," she said.

The brother, seemingly shocked by the fact that any girl here would come to the defense of Issei, straightened out his posture, adjusted his bow-tie, tugged on the cuffs of his gloves, and began walking to a seat beside his sister while still keeping a semblance of the glare from before trained on Issei.

"I apologize," said the sister with a soothing smile. "He's usually much friendlier than this. He's just a bit rough on hormonal people. He'll warm up to you in no time if what your adorable friend said is true."

"Oh, thank you Miss," said Asia with a slight blush.

"Somehow, I doubt me and him are gonna get along anytime soon," Issei thought as he slumped over on his desk and looked back at the man still staring a hole through him with a disgusted expression.

"By the way, my name is Ai Kasai. My brother is named Daisuke Kasai. It is nice to meet you two," said the woman.

"Three, actually," Xenovia added, keeping a cautious eye on Daisuke.

"What has he done to these poor ladies' minds to make them favor him so?" Daisuke muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"We're just as confused as you are, dude," Matsuda said quietly in response.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't think you were friends with this young man," Ai said sincerely. "Do you mind telling us your names since I have told you ours?"

"No problem. My name is Issei Hyoudou," Issei answered before pointing towards Asia then at Xenovia. "She is Asia Argento, and she is Xenovia Quarta."

"Those are wonderful names," commented Ai as she grasped her own hands within each other and held them up to her chest. She looked towards Matsuda and Motohama with an inquisitive glint in her eyes. "Are they perhaps friends of yours as well? They look like a nice pair."

The two were left speechless. Unsure of what to do now that not only Ai's attention was turned to them, but also Daisuke's. They stood quietly until Motohama managed to muster the courage to speak.

"I'm Motohama and my friend here is Mastuda," Motohama said, being careful with his choice of words. Despite the pressure Daisuke was imposing, he spoke without so much as a stutter.

"Don't you fuck this up man. Your a little better at speakin' to girls than I am, so I'm countin' on ya to not fuck this up," Matsuda thought while looking towards the cheery Ai. "Goddamn, she's a gem."

Mid-speech, Motohama's eyes began to subconsciously wonder downwards towards Ai's chest. This act of lechery quickly caught the attention of Daisuke as he once again pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh. He spoke again.

"I take it you two are the other members of the _Cirque Du Lechery_ I was told about," Daisuke said with a fabricated french accent in his voice that drove the suave in his voice up another level.

"Shit!" thought Matsuda as his face contorted to one of dismay.

"Mission failed!" thought Motohama as his expression did the same.

"Come on now, Daisuke. Nobody's perfect. It isn't fair to judge someone for something they can't help," stated Ai despite her brother's harshness.

Daisuke's eyes were still locked on the two with the same gaze he gave Issei. He seemed to have gave way as shown by his ireful expression weakening, albeit slightly, before speaking.

"I can't stop my sister from befriending lechers no matter how much I try to fight it," Daisuke said as he got back up and aggressively made his way towards Matsuda and Motohama. Once up close, he raised his head to look down upon the two with a look in his eyes that seemed borderline violent before speaking with a tone that suggested murderous intent. "Do note, however, that I **will not** tolerate you touching my sister in **any way**. I don't enjoy getting drastic, even with lechers, but you will force my hand if you don't heed this warning," he turned his attention to Issei. With the same tone and his head still cocked back, he spoke to Issei. "The same applies to you as well. You do understand that?"

"Yeah, I get it," Issei responded before hearing Ddraig's blaring voice ring within his head.

"This mortal has no clue who he is talking to. I would advise against fighting him, lest you accidentally kill him." Ddraig said to Issei, sensing a rise in Issei's adrenaline levels.

"I'm not plannin' on fighting the guy. He's just tryin' to protect his sister. There's nothin' wrong with that," Issei said to Ddraig.

"Then you're afraid of this mortal?" Ddraig asked, deducing that Issei's rise in adrenaline was born from fear.

"A little. Not sure about you Ddraig, but this guy's got one hell of a death stare. Can't help but feel at least a little bit afraid. Not as scary as President's, thankfully; 'cause I'm feeling that I'm gonna be seein' that face a lot," answered Issei.

"Pathetic," Ddraig said in a disappointed tone.

"Hey man, you're a whatchamacallit Dragon; of course you're not going to be afraid of anything. I still have human instincts. I'm gonna be a little afraid if someone looks at me like that," Issei refuted.

"That is a fair point," Ddraig conceded. "Do acknowledge, though, that my past partners have often been brave warriors who never shirked from confrontation because of a menacing face. I guess humans have grown softer than I anticipated since the age of warriors came to an unfortunate end. Really going to miss those days."

The room was near silent, the only noise being Daisuke's shoes striking the ground as he returned to his seat beside Ai. Once he was seated, Ai broke the silence with her soothing voice to mellow out the tense situation.

"With our bumpy introductions out of the way, I want to see if we can get to know you five a bit better. I feel that you know more about this school than most of the others, so it would be nice to have you as friends," said Ai with a smile before fixating her attention on the Perverted Trio. "Alongside that, spending time together should soften my brother up so that he isn't staring at you three with murderous intent whenever you're around,"

"That sounds like a great idea," Issei agreed, avoiding locking his eyes with the steely gaze of Daisuke.

Xenovia suddenly tugged on Issei's arm and abruptly pulled him outside of the classroom.

"Hey Xenovia, what's your problem?" Issei shouted while being dragged outside into the now empty hallway: leaving Asia, Matsuda, and Motohama alone with the two siblings.

Ai let out a slight giggle and Daisuke rested his face in his palm.

* * *

Xenovia pulled Issei a fair distance away from the door and positioned him so that they would face each other eye-to-eye. Her gaze was as sharp as ever while bearing a scowl directed towards the brown-haired oaf. "Issei, we can't afford to let these two into our lives at this time. We have more pressing matters to tend to than whatever it is that is driving you to welcome them," Xenovia said quietly despite their current isolation.

"I know," Issei answered quietly. "But I can't have that guy stay mad at Motohama and Matsuda. Knowing them, they're gonna wind up gettin' themselves killed with him around."

"And that's more important than the conference between the leaders of the Three Factions?" Xenovia asked with the same hushed volume as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"I guess when you put it like that, no. But to me, it is. Those two are probably the only human friends I'm gonna have in my life, so I'd rather not lose 'em because they tried to get handsy with that Ai chick," Issei replied with false confidence.

"Are you sure that Daisuke will even go that far?" Xenovia rebutted as she tilted her head to the left, arms still crossed and brow still raised.

"Not really," Issei answered, his bravado now faded. "But I'd rather not risk it. We don't know these people; so we don't know what runs through their heads. If we can perhaps get Motohama and Matsuda on both their good sides, we won't have to worry about Daisuke gettin' violent. That is all I'm saying."

There was a silence between the two that lasted roughly a full minute. Xenovia pondered the situation at hand while Issei stood anxiously, awaiting her response.

"Fine," said Xenovia before leaning into Issei's ear to whisper. "But if they start impeding our training, we'll more than likely have to leave them with your friends. You understand that, right?"

Issei paused for a moment before answering. Seeing as how this was probably the best he was going to get out of no-nonsense Xenovia, he had little choice but to accept these terms.

"Fine," Issei answered.

The two walked back towards the door to the classroom.

* * *

The two re-entered the classroom. Issei, still aiming to avoid eye contact with Daisuke, looked straight towards the much more welcoming Ai as he entered the room. The sight of the gentle woman's smile filled Issei's heart with glee. Xenovia, however, cut a menacing glare of her own towards Daisuke, who was still staring Issei down from his seat.

"I can't say Issei is wrong to worry, though. I've seen stares like that come from warriors who fear not even death. The odd thing is, even though he's giving off a pure human energy, I can't help but feel threatened when looking into those eyes," Xenovia thought as she gazed at the ireful amber eyes of Daisuke. "Perhaps it's the intense color that gives them this effect?"

"Pardon me for being nosy; but why did you drag your friend out so abruptly?" Ai inquired, breaking Xenovia's fixation on Daisuke for a moment.

"Just going over our plans we have later today," Xenovia answered.

"Yeah, _plans_ for after school hours," Matsuda said in mocking envy while, too, staring daggers at Issei.

"I would rather you shut up, lecher," Daisuke intervened, borderline yelling as his foul attitude targeted Matsuda and Motohama. "While I abhor the fact that your lecher friend actually has two ladies under his thumb, voodoo magic or not, I feel that it is a better alternative to whatever foul foolery you two are undertaking. At least he's centralizing his perverse personality around two ladies instead of the entire bloody campus; which is what I'm assuming you two sex-drunk shmuchs do on a constant basis," he ranted before looking back at Issei, raising his voice and aggressive tone. "That doesn't mean I think of you substantially higher than your lecher friends, mind you. I can't help but pity these two ladies for being subjugated to your-"

"Hey Dai-Dick, ever heard of not judgin' a book by its cover? I haven't done anything to them!" Issei shouted, interrupting Daisuke as he stood up from his desk.

"Would you think a book with the title 'Little Timmy and His Pet Weenie' be anything other than a Professor Sees book or a Sex-Ed story?" Daisuke exclaimed snidely in an attempt to drown out Issei's voice and argument with his own as he, too, abruptly stood out of his seat in an attempt at intimidation.

"Come on now, Daisuke. You're looking at this from the wrong angle. You should at least acknowledge the fact that he has two girls who value him as much as they do. He can't be that bad if they think of him so highly despite his reputation here," Ai said, once again, trying to defend Issei.

"My opinions will change when I feel that I have enough evidence. It is as simple as that. You have to stop putting so much trust in strangers. Even an alleged saint can turn out to be a despicable person," Daisuke rebutted with a calmer, more suave voice.

"And an allegedly despicable person can turn out to be a saint," Ai said as a follow-up to Daisuke's argument.

Daisuke retired to his seat in silence, still keeping a close eye on the Perverted Trio. "I can't believe I'm getting so heated over unsavory rubbish," he muttered once he sat down.

"Let me assure you that, once you get to know Issei, you'll forget why you were even mad at him in the first place," Asia said to Daisuke.

"For your sake, lecher, I hope Miss Argento is correct," Daisuke said to Issei with a growl in his voice.

"I think you will like Motohama and Matsuda too once you get past the less than pleasant side of them," Xenovia added with her cutting expression; that of which Daisuke actively shirked away from interlocking with his own before going completely silent. "And now he's passive... strange," she thought.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Schoolyard, 11:35 AM**

Having endured the belittlement by Daisuke, Issei is visibly demoralized knowing that he has made yet another enemy in the human world. Fortunately, Motohama and Matsuda had activities today that got them away from the Kasai siblings, so Issei doesn't have to worry about them making rash moves around Daisuke for now. He, along with Xenovia and Asia, head on down to the club house, being met halfway by Rias, Kiba, and Koneko.

"Hey guys. What do ya need us for?" Issei said unenthusiastically and slouched over.

"Are you alright Issei?" Yuuto asked. "You look like you've been through the wringer today."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll be fine," said Issei.

"He had a less than pleasant confrontation with a couple of new students," Xenovia interjected, wanting to cut to the point.

"Would you mind explaining, Ise?" Rias asked with narrowed eyes, a slight scowl, and an underlying tone of aggression in her voice.

"I'm not sure if I should, President," Issei responded while trying his hardest not to look Rias in the eyes.

"If they're causing problems, we need to know so that we can try to resolve things before somebody gets hurt," said Yuuto.

"Fine, maybe you'll get through to the walking dictionary better than I can," Issei conceded. "There are these guys named Ai Kasai and Daisuke Kasai. Ai's a very nice girl while Daisuke is a dude who has only said one positive thing about me so far; and that turned out to be a backhanded remark. Everything else has been a buncha insults, threats, and shaming,"

"Oh, those guys," Yuuto said with a dose of pep in his voice.

"You've met them?" Issei asked.

"No, but I've been hearing about them a lot lately," Yuuto answered. "I've heard that Daisuke is giving me quite a run for my money in the looks department. I would genuinely like to meet him."

"What is Daisuke shaming you for?" Rias asked, still keeping her previous tone of voice.

"The usual. Me bein' a pervert and all that good stuff," Issei answered.

"Well, you are. Daisuke's only stating the truth," Koneko interjected with a monotone voice.

"Yeah, I know. What I'm really worried about is what he will do to Motohama and Matsuda if they so much as touch Ai. He threatened to get drastic if that happened; I assume what he means by that is that he is gonna kick their asses at the very least," said Issei.

"It's a two-on-one scenario," Koneko refuted.

"I'm more worried about the chances of him pullin' a rapier outta his ass or something," Issei responded.

"A numbers advantage means nothing if one or both members are too afraid to fight back," Xenovia added.

"Well then, we'll take care of this before school ends today so that you won't have to worry about your friends during training," Rias said as she put her hands on Issei's shoulders.

"Thank you, President. Oh, and please don't get aggressive with him. He may be a melodramatic ass, but all he's tryin' to do is protect his sister," Issei requested, now feeling the confidence to straighten out his posture and liven up his tone of voice.

"The most I can promise is to not harm him physically," Rias said with a foreboding sense of vengefulness. "Asia, I need you to bring the Kasai siblings and Issei's two friends to the club house."

"Yes, Rias. Will do," Asia said as she began heading her way back into the school building, her long and blonde hair fluttering like streams of gold as she did so.

Koneko walked up in front of Issei before speaking to him in a dire tone of voice and deathly serious look in her eyes. "If your friends perv on anyone, I will hurt them."

"Honestly, I would rather you get a hold of them than Daisuke," Issei said. "At least I know you won't outright kill them. Right?"

Koneko stared blankly at Issei in silence.

"Right?" Issei asked once again, this time with a slight tremble in his voice.

* * *

 _ **There's the second chapter done. Feel like I did pretty good on this one.**_

 _ **We got OC's in the mix now. That may make or break the story for some. Feel free to let me know what you think about them so far. Good? Bad? Indifferent? Probably not going to see a lot of the first, though.**_

 _ **As for Daisuke's snarky behavior, I know people hate seeing these types of characters and it tends to kill off stories when they're present. So I feel obligated to say that he isn't going to be like this for long. Sorry.**_

 _ **I also tried to add in some humor. Not sure if it is going to make anyone chuckle, though.**_


	4. Volume 1:Life 3

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **What Lovely Company!**_

After the less than pleasant confrontation with Daisuke, Rias arranged a meeting to discuss the problem between Daisuke and Issei to see if they could resolve the former's problem with Issei and his two human friends. The meeting was to be held within the very same room where Grayfia had told Rias and Sona of the delay.

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 11:45 AM**

Rias sat upon a couch beside Issei straight across from Ai and Daisuke with a table between the two groups that seemed to separate the room into two halves. Rias's side of the room required her back to be turned towards the window when facing the center, allowing plentiful light to shine through and illuminate the crimson hair of the Gremory heiress. Xenovia and Asia stood to the left of the siblings with Yuuto and Koneko to the right. Behind Issei and Rias stood Akeno, Matsuda, and Motohama.

"I'm sorry for this sudden summoning; it must be jarring considering it is your first day here," Rias said with crossed arms and a mildly sour expression on her face.

"No, no, it is fine. There is no need for you to apologize," Ai said with a soothing voice that weakened Rias's scowl into a slight smile.

"We're having this meeting today on account of your brother acting aggressively towards one of my club members and his nonmember friends," said Rias, promptly adopting her sour expression once again as she looked towards Daisuke, who had sat beside Ai and hung his head low.

"Ah, yes. I had a feeling something like this would happen," Ai said with hesitation as her gaze briefly shirked away from Rias's. Shortly after a pause in her thought, her eyes locked with Rias's again. "I, for one, apologize on behalf of my brother; but I fear that a verbal apology won't be enough."

"You are correct," Rias responded with a nod. "We need to talk to Daisuke in order to see if we can make things even and hopefully prevent situations like this one from happening later," she said before leaning forward to bring herself a slight bit closer to the two. Her crimson hair spilled onto the table between them. "I was told the problem emerged after one girl called out Issei and his two male friends for being perverted. Instead of rationally getting the story from both sides, you blindly believed her words without a semblance of doubt. Is that correct?" Rias asked as she looked at Issei, then Asia, then Xenovia, then at Matsuda and Motohama.

"Yes, President," Issei, Asia, and Xenovia all responded, each giving an agreeing nod.

"Honestly, I didn't hear anything the girl said," said Matsuda as he shrugged slightly.

"Same here," added Motohama.

"I will vouch for that," Ai said as she raised her hand, surprisingly going against her own brother.

"Well then, even your sister is against you here," said Rias with widened eyes directed at Ai. The fact that even Daisuke's own sister would turn against him in this case left Rias a little awestruck considering the kind impression she had created.

"I wouldn't say that I'm against him. It's does no good to sugarcoat or lie when in a serious conversation. It only makes the situation worse. What my little Daisuke did was wrong, so I can't really attest in favor of it," Ai responded.

"I see," Rias said before looking back at Daisuke with her prior displeased expression. She then decided to lay into the amber-eyed sibling with little remorse. "You do realize that blindly following the words of a complete stranger without question is not only foolish, but also detrimental to others? Not to mention the fact that the extreme threats you directed towards Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama were entirely without merit as you had no way of telling if the girl's words were true. I would honestly recommend getting to know someone instead of following the claims of those who don't even know the person in question. This one-track mindset is why stereotypes exist-"

"Jeez, Prez is really stickin' it to the guy. I would ask her to let up, but I'm afraid she might lash out at me at this point," Issei thought as he shrank into the couch. Rias went on and on, never seeming to cease with her tirade against Daisuke.

As Rias neared the end of her rant, something about Daisuke drew the attention of Koneko. What caught her attention his complete silence as he motionlessly stared at the table. His dark hair dangled around his head and hid his face like a black veil.

"Believe it or not, the rumors surrounding the three you disdain so much are actually heavily exaggerated," Rias said, extending both arms outwards from her body. "Everyone in this room has been around these three for a fair deal of time and have never seen or heard of them doing any of these unrealistically drastic acts. Yes, they committed minor acts of perversion, but nothing as-"

"Is he even paying attention?" Koneko asked in her monotone voice as she leaned forward slightly. This halted Rias's train of thought as everyone's attention shifted to Daisuke's intense and unbreaking fixation on the table.

"He is. Don't worry," Ai responded as she waved a hand in front of Daisuke's head as if attempting to draw attention back towards her.

"I don't think he is," Koneko rebutted as she poked the side of Daisuke's head. "Silky," she remarked quietly upon feeling his hair.

"He hasn't even said anything cutting either. What gives?" Issei added as he leaned forward from his shrunk position.

Daisuke sat there motionless, still staring at the table. It was as if the man was a statue with how still he was. One would mistake that he wasn't even breathing with how motionless he sat. This stillness was so absolute that, although no one had a clear view of his face, he failed to blink even once since he began sitting on the couch.

"Oh, silly me. I forgot to mention. He has trouble being around girls," Ai said followed by a slight giggle.

Daisuke's stillness briefly gave way as his head fell to a lower level with a face, hidden by both its low elevation and accompanying hair, that turned bright red.

"Whenever he talks around girls or whenever girls talk to him, he can completely lose his composure and ability to think rationally. He tends to tense himself up and remains quiet in order to minimize his reaction and chances of being noticed," Ai continued.

"You can't be serious…" said Issei, who then questioned "Then why was he still talking me down when Asia and Xenovia were standing in the same room as him?"

"He has a tendency to get caught up in the madness of the moment. When he does so, he falls victim to overwhelming tunnel-vision. The first words you said to him provoked him to just target you and, eventually, your two friends. Trust me, after the trade of words, he was a nervous wreck after realizing he made himself look like an... 'irate chimp' in front of two girls," Ai responded while making air quotes to signify an exact statement from her brother. "He's actually a lot rougher on himself than he is anyone else."

"Ai, could you please relent?" asked Daisuke, still hiding his reddened face. Unfortunately, Ai didn't hear him and she continued her speech.

"The thing is, his harshness towards hormonal people actually spurs from his envy of their confidence and bravery when it comes to girls. He doesn't even genuinely hate them," Ai continued.

"What could anyone who looks the way he does possibly be nervous about?" Motohama asked Ai as he held the left frame of his glasses in between his fingers.

"If I had a face and hair like that, I wouldn't have a care in the world," Matsuda added as he rubbed his shaven head in disappointment. "Here me and my bud are jumpin' all sorts of hurdles to get some action while this guy is breakin' his legs dodgin' the booty. The world's so twisted."

"Well, there was a girl in junior high-" Ai said while putting a finger to her chin before being interrupted by Daisuke.

"Ai, stop!" Daisuke exclaimed with a commanding voice, his head still held down to hide the redness of his face.

"Oh no." Ai said, dropping her smile for the first time since she and her brother met Issei. "I'm sorry Dai. I got a bit carried away. I only meant to tell them you were shy and leave it at that." She turned over to Daisuke with her hand hovering over her mouth.

"I take it that was a personal secret?" Rias inquired with a slight grin.

"Kind of. Though, I guess that is a fair consequence considering his misbehavior earlier," Ai answered as she turned back towards Rias, attempting to reconstruct her smile and keep a positive vibe. "You fine people don't mind refraining from letting what I've told you become public knowledge, right?"

"I'll respect your wishes," Rias replied before looking down upon Daisuke. "While I'm for teaching Daisuke a lesson, large-scale public humiliation would be excessive for the given crime. I feel, though, that he needs a bit more punishment before I can say that I forgive him."

Akeno's face shifted to one of mischievous glee and her otherwise gentle gaze turned predatory. "Oh my, oh my. He's shy, huh? I think I know just the punishment," Akeno thought as she quietly made her way over to Daisuke, undetected by the majority of the people there.

Rias sat quietly, contemplating on how she could make things even between the three and Daisuke. Looking up from her concentration, Rias noticed Akeno halfway through her advance towards Daisuke with a distinct, mischievous expression. Rias smiled in a similar fashion to Akeno; she knew what she was planning to do.

"Perfect. I didn't even have to come up with anything," Rias thought, shifting her eyes away from Akeno.

"It's fine, President. Really," Issei said, his gaze turned to Rias. "I'm willing to forgive the guy. It has to suck being popular with the ladies, yet being afraid of that attention. It's like pickin' the winning lottery ticket then losing it the next day. Probably tore him up inside when that crowd of students circled him like a buncha vultures."

"It really did. I had to shield him from a few girls that kept trying to drag him into the crowd," Ai added.

"That still doesn't justify the rude things he said to you three in my eyes," Rias said as she grinned. For her, the show was just about to begin.

Akeno loomed over the nervous brother like an owl staring down at its prey. Rias shot a signal, that being a slight elevation to the right side of her mouth, to Akeno. In response, Akeno suddenly wrapped her arms around Daisuke's shoulders from behind the couch. "Surprise!" she shouted as she tightly hugged Daisuke and intentionally pressed her chest firmly against his back.

Daisuke's already reddened face was drowned in a red shade even deeper than Rias's hair. Upon contact with her skin, his body tensed up so much, his breathing became a stream of sharp exhalation. All that could be heard from Daisuke was a pitiful, continuous whimper similar in sound to a frog squeaking. The sound earned Daisuke confused glances from almost everyone in the room with Ai and Akeno being the exceptions; the former had concern plastered across her face while the latter let out a rolling chuckle.

"If a hug is enough to turn you into a squeaky toy, I can't wait to see how you'd react to something a bit more..." Akeno paused before moving closer to Daisuke's ear and bringing her hand down towards Daisuke's midsection, gliding her fingers across his body in a seductive manner along the way. " _Intense_ ," Akeno teased, waiting to see how Daisuke would react.

"Holy shit, is she really gonna go down on the dude?" Matsuda thought. His mouth stood slightly agape. His eyes widened as much as he could force them. "Damn. Shoulda brought my camera for this."

"Is she into shy types? What is even going on?" Motohama thought. He bore an unsettling smile as he leaned in to get a better view of the situation. "Maybe I should start acting that way if she's getting this touchy-feely with this Kiba knock-off."

Unfortunately for the two, Koneko bore witness to this lecherous sight. Koneko, since she harbored an even greater disdain towards perversity than Daisuke had displayed, had began the motions of walking up to and dick-punching the two of them right then and there. She succeeded in the first step, but was halted by something that caused not only her, but the majority of the room to wince in pain.

Daisuke's screech of terror intensified in pitch and volume significantly as a result of Akeno's remark. Such a noise was rather abnormal to hear coming from the throat of a human as it sounded exactly like a plastic whistle being blown at max volume through a microphone.

The noise caused Koneko to feebly hold her ears as she retreated behind the couch holding Rias, saving the two perverts from Koneko's wrath in favor of a significantly less painful fate by the hands of Daisuke's piercing cry of terror.

"Oh God, that fuckin' hurts," Matsuda thought as he forcefully covered his ears.

"How can anyone make that high pitched of a noise?" Motohama thought as he, too, covered his ears.

Everyone else in the room, save for Ai for some unknown reason and Akeno by some miraculous force of will, pressed their hands against their ears in an attempt at blocking out the ear-piercing screech.

Akeno, getting a massive thrill from this despite the ringing in her ears, eagerly attempted to take it a step further and tried to reach down towards Daisuke's left thigh to further provoke Daisuke. Mid-motion, however, Ai asserted herself.

"Miss, could you please refrain from doing that?" Ai asked Akeno, her smile wavering slightly before lightly grasping Akeno's hand and positioning it away from the lower body of her brother. Despite her tall stature making her hands a fair bit larger than Akeno's, Ai's hand was as gentle as could be as.

"A little teasing never hurt anybody," Akeno replied as she attempted, once more, to further provoke the nervous wreck.

"Akeno, that should be enough," Rias said with covered ears, signaling Akeno to release Daisuke.

Though reluctant, she did so with a satisfied grin. "I hope you're looking forward to next time, dear," Akeno said to Daisuke as she returned to Rias's side. As she walked away from him, Akeno lifted up the back end of her skirt slightly to sap one last drop of terror from Daisuke, who was too caught up in regaining lost oxygen to see anything.

Daisuke's screeching gradually ceased, but he still sat rigidly while looking down at the table in front of him. The group was freed from the piercing screech and returned to their previous positions.

"Akeno's found her prey. Good luck dude; you're **really** gonna need it," Issei thought as he looked towards Daisuke with an expression of complete pity. Ironic considering the situation beforehand.

"I didn't think he would react that badly, to be honest. I was expecting a minor yelp, not... whatever that was," Rias said to Ai.

"That is what is referred to as Daisuke's Self-Defense Screech in our family. He does this for as long as he feels extremely uncomfortable and can even cause himself to faint due to self-inflicted oxygen deprivation. His condition is pretty bad," Ai responded as she caressed her brother, who was shakily panting after the screech.

"I think it is only going to get worse from here. You see, Akeno feeds off of reactions like that. I could tell her to not actively seek Daisuke out, but I can't promise she won't try to fish a reaction out of him whenever she and he cross paths. I apologize dearly for what may happen in the future," Rias explained, vengeful aura now dissipated into one of genuine concern for the nervous Kiba contender.

Following this, an idea came to Issei. Eager to get it out, he diverted the conversation without concern of the matter at hand. "So, you said the reason he didn't like me, Matsuda, and Motohama was 'cause he had no confidence when talking to chicks, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," answered Ai with a slight nod and her usual smile.

"How about we teach him how to talk to girls?" Issei suggested.

"That sounds lovely," Ai answered. "But how are you planning on doing that? I've tried helping him by talking to him myself and, as a result, he became conditioned to talking to me and only me. When I try to get him to talk to another girl, he is incapable of getting a word out."

"Sounds to me that you are being a bit too passive," Motohama said to Ai as he adjusted his glasses with a cocky grin on his face. "You're trying to teach him something that must be learned first-hand. Instead of encouraging him from behind, you have to force him, one way or another, into conversations with a girl. There also has to be a risk when it comes to backing out if you want him to stick to a conversation."

"I never thought of it that way," Ai said while putting a finger to her chin. "But I don't think I'm willing to be forceful with anyone, let alone my little Daisuke."

"You don't have to. We'll help out with that part. Who knows? Maybe if we help him with his insecurity, he'll help me and Motohama get some girls ourselves. It's a win-win in my book." Matsuda added as he, too, sported a confident smile.

"Well, that's a way of looking at it," Yuuto said while giving off a light smile.

"Just don't let their perverted antics rub off on you, Silky," Koneko remarked.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that at all. Daisuke knows his boundaries very well. I'd honestly be surprised if he even looks at a woman's chest when talking to one," Ai said to Koneko. "By the way, we haven't gotten to know your names yet."

"I guess it would be fine to trade formalities," Rias began. "I am Rias Gremory, the smaller girl to your left is Koneko Toujou, beside her is Yuuto Kiba, and the girl behind me is Akeno Himejima. We have another member elsewhere named Gasper Vladi who couldn't be here right now because he is also rather timid. I'm assuming you have already met Xenovia and Asia and I know for a fact you have met Issei," she listed, pointing to each corresponding, present person.

"That is correct, Miss Gremory," Ai said as she smiled in an almost contagious way. "Those are lovely names."

"Much appreciated. Do feel free to call us by our first names if you wish," Rias said, a sincere smile forming on her face as well.

The door to the right of the group opened to reveal Sona Sitri, who wished to discuss minor preparatory matters with Rias. She had just opened her mouth to begin speaking when she noticed Ai's figure looming over the back of the sofa straight across from Rias. Before she could close the door to let them finish their conversation, Ai looked behind her and greeted the black haired Devil.

"Hello there. Are you perhaps part of this club as well?" Ai inquired.

"Not exactly. I'm the President of the Student Council," Sona answered.

"So your Miss Shitori then? Silly me, I should've guessed with your scholarly appearance," Ai said as she gave a seated bow.

"Not to interrupt, but is anything important happening at this time?" Sona asked as she approached the group, arms crossed and completely unaware of the hunched over Daisuke sitting right beside Ai.

"We're just wrapping up a discussion we were having with this girl's brother," Rias answered, an undertone of pity in her eyes as she gazed at the man.

"There's another one?" Sona questioned as she peered around the towering Ai to see the tensed up Daisuke. "What happened to him?"

"I gave him a hug," answered Akeno.

"Well, whatever you were attempting apparently didn't work," Sona replied as she held a hand up to her glasses and adjusted them.

"Trust me, _it did,_ " Akeno rebutted with a lick of her lips and another predatory glare.

"Anyway..." said Sona, dismissing the previous conversation. "I'm going to need you two and you two to leave immediately," Sona said as she pointed at Ai and Daisuke, then at Motohama and Matsuda. "I have something I need to discuss with the Occult Research Club in private."

"Okay then, we'll see ourselves out. Come on, Dai," Ai said as she got up from the couch and made her way to Sona. "Maybe we'll get to talk some more later. I would love to get to know about you," Ai said to Sona as she passed by with Daisuke, still hiding his face, following behind. The two then promptly left the room.

"That means you too," Akeno said to Motohama and Matsuda.

"Oh yes, of course," said Motohama as he and his bald friend quickly exited the room.

* * *

Sona waited a few minutes to make sure the two groups were out of earshot of their discussion before beginning.

"Anyway, we need to establish a suitable training ground away from campus perimeters considering the destructive nature of our capabilities, namely the capabilities of Hyoudou and his Boosted Gear," Sona said, briefly looking directly at Issei before turning her attention back to Rias. "It would be less than ideal to have to repair school property everyday after training, so I recommend we train somewhere in the nearby mountains; they are isolated enough so that we don't have to worry about people being witness to what we're doing. Even then, the witnesses would be sparse and most likely ignored by the masses; that is, of course, if we are unable to wipe their memory, which shouldn't be a problem so long as we have someone or something on lookout."

Rias considered the idea. Eventually, she came forth and spoke. "That sounds like an excellent idea. However, I think we should train on the side of the mountain facing away from as much civilization as possible to further minimize any complications even if it means that we will have to make a longer hike everyday. I think we'll get used to it after a few days or so anyway."

"Very well then. I'll go inform the rest of the council of the decision," Sona said before turning to exit the room. Before she could leave, however, her curiosity got the better of her. She turned back around and asked Rias. "What was all of that about? I mean with the siblings and whatnot. You don't often bring humans in here to discuss earthly matters."

"We were having some minor problems with the tall girl's brother," Rias answered. "He was talking down to and threatening Ise and his human friends. While Ise wasn't in any danger, his two human friends were; so we had to take care of that as Ise was adamant about their safety. We also found out some things we shouldn't have about the brother."

That last sentence from Rias caused Sona to raise her brow. Despite her refined nature, secrets would often be the best way to pique her interest. "And that would be?"

"The sister would rather not have us tell about it," Rias answered. "I don't want to betray the trust of such a nice girl. Besides, it's something you wouldn't find interesting anyway: just some personal problems. You are free to ask her about it later if you must know, but I can't promise that she'll tell you."

"That is understandable. I'll be seeing myself out now," Sona said as she finished making her way to the door and left the room.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Hallway, 12:15 AM**

"Well… today went from bad to worse. I got swarmed by people, made myself look like an idiot in front of two ladies, and now my secret is revealed to a group mainly consisting of ladies with one in particular that is going to prioritize on embarrassing me whenever we meet. Bloody Hell, I can't wait for this to be over," Daisuke lamented.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you had it coming with how you were carrying yourself earlier," Ai remarked.

"Yes, karmic retribution was bound to strike at some point. It doesn't change the fact that it was unpleasant in every regard, though," Daisuke said with crossed arms. "I just hope Motohama and Matsuda know what they're doing."

"I'm sure they do. They need you as much as you need them at this point, so I doubt that they're not going to try everything they can to help."

Motohama and Matsuda turned a corner down the hallway, both wearing large smiles. Once they noticed Ai and Daisuke down the hallway, they picked up their pace from a leisurely walk to a mild jog. Upon meeting up with the two, Matsuda started up a conversation with them.

"Hey there guys," Matsuda said to the siblings.

"Hello, dears." Ai responded with a brief wave.

"Greetings, lech-" Daisuke paused. He sighed and struck his forehead with his palm. "There I go saying it again. I'm sorry mates, I've already gotten into a nasty habit of calling you that and it is reluctant to leave."

"Don't worry about it," Motohama replied. "Also, did you just call us 'mates'?"

"Yes, I did. That is how I tend to address my friends. It's a habit that I picked up from some British-English friends from times back. It eventually integrated itself into my usual speaking patterns," Daisuke answered.

"Isn't that an Australian thing though?" Matsuda asked.

"Yes, but British individuals are prone to it as well," Daisuke answered.

"I see. Gives you a little eccentricity then," said Motohama. "Girls tend to love guys who have an odd quirk to them."

"I know everything is cleared and whatnot, but I feel obligated to apologize anyway. I couldn't help but believe what the lady said because I wasn't able to overcome my bashfulness not wanting to confront her claims. Not sure if that makes sense to you, but I hope you harbor no ill will against me," Daisuke said while putting one hand on Motohama's shoulder and another and Matsuda's shoulder.

"No worries buddy," Matsuda said with a massive smile. "To be honest, I kind of feel bad for ya. A guy like you should be pickin' up chicks on a daily basis. Being shy kinda throws that whole gig out the window."

Daisuke gave a warm smile. While no where near as soothing as one of Ai's, it was still comforting to the two members of the Perverted Trio considering the downright murderous stare he was giving them prior.

"The fact that, even after the hateful and unpleasant things I have said towards you two and Issei, you can still find it in yourselves to help me out tells me enough about your true colors. I'll be more than willing to help you two grow past your perversity so long as you help me with my insecurity," Daisuke said before leaning closer to the two. "Also, I kind of need you two to help keep lookout for that Akeno lady. I **cannot** afford to run into her again."

"I get ya man," Matsuda responded. "Honestly, I was worried for you after I saw how she was starin' ya down."

"That was probably how you two felt when I was doing the same. It is a bloody terrifying sensation," Daisuke said, shivering in remembrance of the look Akeno gave him after she had returned to Rias's side, her words deafeningly ringing in his ears.

"The look you were giving us was more like straightforward hate; we're kind of used to that, as you can assume by our reputation here. Hers, however, was more similar in nature to a cat playing with its food," Motohama stated while adjusting his glasses. "I, for one, wouldn't mind too much if she was staring at me like that, but it had to be awful for you."

"Awful is an understatement, mate. But let's not dwell on that altercation right now, I don't want to relive that scene in my head," Daisuke said with a brief tremble in his voice. "Anyway, what have you two grinning goofs got planned for me? Don't think I didn't catch you two smiling from down the hallway."

"I managed to get you set up with a party after school. We made a bet with Murayama that me and Matsuda could come along if we managed to get you to come as well. She simply laughed it off like it was the apex of all jokes," Motohama said with his face shrinking into a frown, feeling a fair bit hurt by the woman's response. Nonetheless, his glumness jolted right back into a light smile as he continued speaking. "This is the perfect time for us to help you with your insecurity while setting me and Matsuda on good terms with the girls there."

"It is going to be impossible to avoid confrontation at a party. It is perfect," Daisuke said before turning to Ai. "I'm sorry, dear sister, but I'm going to need you to let me handle this myself."

"No, I understand. I'd probably get in the way anyway," Ai replied.

"It is not like that at all. It is more my fault. I'm always having you be my spokesperson when ladies are around. I need to break away from that if I am to change," Daisuke rebutted before turning back to Matsuda and Motohama. "When does it start?"

"It starts at 6:45 PM and ends at 11:00 PM," Matsuda answered. "Don't worry about where; we'll take ya there. Where do you guys live?"

* * *

 _ **That concludes this chapter.**_ _ **I apologize in advance if the next chapter doesn't come out shortly. Preparing for college and all that good stuff.**_

 _ **Once again, feel free to give criticism so that I can learn from any mistakes I may have made or am currently making.**_


	5. Volume 1:Life 4

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **Work Hard, Party Hard!**_

With instructional hours over with, the groups head out to their destinations. The ORC and the Student Council take to the mountains to begin their training while Matsuda, Motohama, and Daisuke head over to a party to help rid Daisuke of his shy disposition while giving the other two a chance at getting girls of their own.

* * *

 **Kuoh Mountains, 5:30 PM**

After a long trek through the mountains, the young Devils reached their idealized training grounds while only being 30 minutes behind schedule. The grounds were a roughly circular plateau about 97 meters in diameter located on the side on a mountain. Minimal plant life was observed and rocks, both large and small, adorned the plateau. The group unpacked all of the essentials: snacks, water, targets, and sleeping bags in case they became too exhausted to make their way back. The entire process took another 30 minutes, thus putting them a full hour behind schedule.

"There, everything is set," Sona declared. "Training starts soon. Everyone get into position."

The ORC and Student Council split into two groups on opposite sides of the training ground with Sona's group guarding a wooden bird sculpture on one end and Rias's group on the other aiming to destroy the target.

"Begin!" Sona shouted.

Rias's side sped towards Sona's with her Knights, Xenovia and Yuuto, leading the charge. Behind them was Koneko and Rias; the latter of which took to the air alongside Akeno, who was a fair distance behind Rias. Following them was Issei, Gasper, and Asia, who stood close by each other in their advances.

In retaliation, Sona's Bishops, Momo and Reya, stayed on ground level in the back lines and formed a barrier over the target. Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, took to the skies to counter Rias's and Akeno's approaches by forming a barrier over Momo and Reya. Sona's Knight, Tomoe, and Rook, Tsubasa, took the front lines of the defense by forming a barrier around the entire group. Standing between Sona's layer and the outermost layer were her Pawns, Genshirou and Ruruko, who also formed a barrier. This all created a quad-layered shield around the target.

"You guys really went at it with the choreography," Akeno remarked mid-advance. A magic circle appeared above the barrier. With a wave of her hand, Akeno struck down upon Tomoe's and Tsubasa's barrier with a mighty bolt of lightning from the magic circle. This greatly strained the two as they tried to maintain the barrier.

"I see," Rias remarked with a hushed voice. With a single strike being enough to cause such damage, Rias came to an abrupt conclusion. "You put the weaker barriers closer to the front, didn't you?"

"You're as sharp as ever, Rias," Sona muttered. "Front-Second Rotation!" she ordered, her voice like thunder as it swept across the battlefield.

Genshirou and Ruruko dropped their barriers and proceeded to advance forward to Tomoe's and Tsubasa's locations before deploying their barriers once again. Once the new wall was set, Tomoe and Tsubasa dropped their barriers and retreated to where Genshirou and Ruruko once were and deployed their barriers once more.

"A rotation strategy? Fufufu. They're really going to make us work for this. I wonder just how much they can take," Akeno remarked, giggling with excitement.

"We'll just have to overwhelm the front lines before Sona decides on a rotation," Rias said. "Rush them down!" she ordered; her voice, much like Sona's thundering across the plateau.

Yuuto and Xenovia ran at full speed towards the barrier with Yuuto brandishing a massive two-handed Destruction Sword born from Sword Birth, a Sacred Gear that can create swords based upon how Kiba imagines them, and Xenovia wielding her Durandal, a roughly equally large gold and blue themed Holy Sword surging with destructive energy. The two lept into the air and delivered a downward slash to the front barrier. This caused Genshirou and Ruruko a great deal of strain. The barrier began to rapidly weaken.

Sona grit her teeth. "Trying to rush in guns blazing to overwhelm us. You're quite adaptive," she thought before throwing her arm outwards to issue another command. "Front-Second-Third Fortification!"

Genshirou and Ruruko utilized the remaining integrity of the barrier to push the two Knights away from them before rushing to Sona's and Tsubaki's barrier. Afterwards, Tomoe and Tsubasa followed suit and the four fortified the barrier with their remaining magic, making the barrier even more difficult to damage. Now the layers have been halved to two, but will the combined magic of Sona, Tsubaki, Tomoe, Tsubasa, Genshirou, and Ruruko be too much for Rias's Peerage to overwhelm?

Most of Rias's group had caught up with Yuuto and Xenovia by this time. Koneko lunged forward landed a mighty flurry of punches against the barrier, but neither it or those projecting it showed any signs of weakening. Akeno and Rias simultaneously struck the barrier with powerful magics, but to no avail. Kiba and Xenovia, despite having them on the ropes prior, were unable to disturb the barrier as they struck at it with great force and precision.

"Now you'll have no choice but to let up; otherwise, you'll tire yourselves out," Genshirou confidently remarked with the most insufferable of smiles on his face, taunting the opposition with its presence.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuuto replied to Genshirou with a confident smile of his own.

While this was happening, Issei had gained headway with Boosted Gear, a mighty Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear that gave Issei the ability to multiply his own power. The mighty tool took the form of a draconic, red gauntlet on his left arm possessing a large jewel within the back of the hand. Gasper stood in front of Issei, his eyes reverting back from an odd glow to their usual pink hue.

As it turned out, Rias had Gasper utilize his Forbidden Balor View, a formless Sacred Gear that allows Gasper to stop the flow of time of anything within his sight, to buy Issei more time to boost his power. Sona's peerage was none the wiser until two piercing words escaped Issei's mouth after Gasper dove out of the danger zone.

"Dragon Shot!"

A destructive beam of energy aimed at a empty space within the barrier erupted from Issei's hand. The might of the blast kicked up a cloud of dust and dirt as it torn its way through the air with a vicious roar.

Sona and her Peerage could only look on as the blast headed its way towards the barrier, unable to stop it.

"Brace for impact!" Sona shouted a mere moment before the blast struck the outer barrier head-on. Sona's side was only able to hold the barrier for a few seconds before the blast overpowered them, shattering the shield like glass and leaving only the innermost barrier standing after the impact. It continued on and pierced the clouds before fading away. The attack left Sona's side weakened and unable to put up much of a fight anymore.

"Yes, it worked! Great job, Gasper!" Issei shouted as he high-fived his Dhampir friend.

Rias looked back towards the two and gave a gentle smile before turning her attention back towards the action.

"Rush in and take down the last barrier!" Rias ordered to her group.

All but Issei, Gasper, and Asia had followed through with this order since Asia was not capable of offense and the other two needed time to recover from exhaustion. Rias's group had this round down.

Suddenly, Koneko got gut-punched out of nowhere by an unknown force. The strike sent her flying into Xenovia, causing the two to be launched through the air like an arrow striking an apple mid-flight.

* * *

The groups looked towards the intruder and attempted to identify it.

The intruder was a towering humanoid based upon its silhouette alone. Its body was that of a scarred up, hulking behemoth with massive arms and stocky legs. It was partially slouched over after having delivered the punch to Koneko. Despite this, it was obviously much bigger than any human could be. It bore four large tusks in its upper and lower jaw with two bearing flowing engravings and one being broken. The formation caused its lips to curl back, displaying sickly green and rotted teeth with strands and residue of raw flesh caught in the crevices. Its eyes were a solid milky white and its ears were in the shape of knives. The creature wore tribal attire with war paint adorning it. Following behind it were about 18 more creatures of its kind; these ones were a slight bit less menacing and battle damaged, suggesting that the one who punched Koneko was the alpha or leader. The creature roared viciously, spreading a foul odor akin to decay through the air as saliva danced from its maw.

"Ogre horde!" Rias yelled with a heightened pitch in her voice.

The groups collectively took to the skies on leathery, bat-like wings and arranged themselves into a battle position centralized on ranged combat. Sona's group put a barrier between them and the Ogres that stretched from the ground to cover their comrades still earthbound and into the air to protect themselves. Meanwhile, Asia, Gasper, and Issei ran over to Koneko and Xenovia, whom of which were injured from the punch delivered by the leading Ogre.

"Don't worry, I'll fix you up," a worried Asia said to the two as she used her Twilight Healing, a Sacred Gear appearing as a pair of silver rings with embedded turquoise gemstones. These miraculous pieces of jewelry allowed her to heal others with simply the touch of a hand as evidenced by the heavenly glow that mended the two Devils' wounds.

"The ugly brute packs a punch," stated Koneko as she got up off the ground, panting from getting struck in the torso.

"We need to get to the air. Fighting this many Ogres in close combat is risky," Xenovia said as Issei aided her off of the ground.

"Are we going to be alright, Issei?" Gasper asked as he stood to the side.

"We'll be fine. I trust President to get us through this," Issei reassured with a gentle smile before he, Asia, and Gasper sprouted their wings and took to the skies to regroup with the others. "Kinda surprised that Ogres are an actual thing though," he silently thought.

The leader Ogre smashed its arms against the ground akin to an angry ape and roared.

"CRUUUUUUSH! KIIIIILL!"

The horde of lesser Ogres rushed towards the barrier at full speed in a crowd of vicious yelling and primal roaring.

"Wait, they can speak!?" Issei asked with an elevated voice and shocked eyes.

"To a degree," Sona responded in a surprisingly calm tone.

The horde rushed towards the barrier, throwing themselves metaphorically and sometimes literally at it in an attempt to smash the barrier to pieces. Some Ogres ran bipedally with their arms flailing angrily. Some ran quadrupedally with the intention of crashing into the barrier at full speed. Some lept into the air like spring-aided basketball professionals and smashed into the barrier with great force and velocity. Fortunately, the barrier and its creators were strong enough to hold off the assault.

"Alright Akeno, you know what to do," Rias said to Akeno, who returned with a knowing nod and summoned forth a magic circle high above the Ogre horde.

"You had me a bit worried there. Too bad you guys are more muscle than you are brains; otherwise, you may have had us for lunch. Bye-bye," Akeno said as she made the motions to call down a storm of lightning upon the brutes.

A massive shadow swooped overhead and knocked the Ogres around with a mighty gust of wind as it passed by, breaking Akeno's concentration and causing the magic circle to dissipate. Since the Devils were in a barrier, the wind failed to reach them. It did, however, leave them thoroughly confused.

"The Hell?" Issei blurted as he frantically looked around in several directions, missing the unidentified creature at every turn.

Thunder sounded continuously as the two groups looked towards the source. The Devils' eyes dilated in fear upon fixating their eyes on the second intruder. A storm brewed seemingly from nowhere, the sky littered with dark clouds and heavy rain, vicious lightning, booming thunder, and mighty winds.

"Not good," Rias thought as her heart sank. The realization of what had flew overhead was enough to break any bravado she had in her.

"What was that?" Issei asked, being the last to look over towards the source of the disturbance.

There, perched upon a peak not too far from the Devils and Ogres sat a massive black bird resembling a hawk that dwarfed humans and overshadowed the Ogres in size. It bore glowing, electric-blue eyes accompanied by a beak and talons that donned a polished silver hue. Upon the ends of its wings and tail lied glowing accents of the same color as its eyes. Upon its head lied a crest of three long, black feathers with the same blue hue gradually becoming more prominent until it reached an almost white color at the ends. The creature was crackling with furious electricity that struck against the ground in a violent display, shattering fragments of the ground below it, alongside an electric blue trail that followed behind its eyes like headlights on a speeding car. A detail missed by all but Issei was a scar along its right eye; it was no stranger to confrontation. The avian creature stared down both groups intently, as if trying to identify them.

The Ogres, despite being out sized, turned towards the bird and roared at it. In response, the bird gently flapped a single wing while perched; causing a loud boom similar in sound to thunder and mighty gusts like those of a cyclone to form. Such a display wound up forcefully bashing the Ogres against the barrier they tried to break, the very mountain itself, and themselves.

"Uh, R-Rias. Wh-What is that?" Asia asked, shakily pointing at the massive bird.

"An Anzû..." Rias replied, her eyes locking with the bird's, sending a chill down her spine.

* * *

 ** **House** **Party** **, 6:** **1** **0 PM****

While all that chaos is going on in the mountains, Daisuke, Motohama, and Matsuda made their way to a party to help each other with their own individual problems. Motohama and Matsuda had arrived earlier than Daisuke and were positioned by the front of the house. After a while of waiting, Daisuke shown himself wearing attire that greatly contrasted that of the two perverts. Motohama and Matsuda went with simplistic and casual clothing consisting of T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. Daisuke however, dressed his best and went with a more refined style of clothing. He wore an open tuxedo jacket with coattails over a white button-up collared shirt. Alongside those, he wore matching black dress pants and black dress shoes to compliment his upper attire. He also wore the same black gloves and black bow tie he was seen wearing to class earlier today, leaving his neck and head the only exposed portions of his body. He was dressed to kill, so to say.

"Well, look at you, Fancypants," Matsuda remarked as he gawked at Daisuke's clothing.

"A bit excessive, but it works," Motohama added.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't certain if the party was to be formal or casual and decided to look my best just in case," Daisuke responded to the two as he pulled on the cuffs of his gloves.

"All I can hope for you is that ya don't get the thing too messy," Matsuda said while putting a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "Is it a rental?" he asked as he hurriedly removed his hand, not wanting to scuff up the suit if it was so.

"No. It is just an old suit my family had lying around," Daisuke answered as he took a look at a wristwatch that was hid under his sleeve. "We're 10 minutes late. I'm not sure if that constitutes as being fashionably late or just simply late," he thought.

"Old? It looks like you just got it from the store," stated Matsuda. "There something you're holdin' out on us, eh Moneybags?" he inquired in a playful manner while nudging Daisuke with his elbow, now feeling a little more comfortable in knowing that the outfit wasn't to be paid off.

"As much as I wish it to be, my family isn't rich. We just had some effective cleaning supplies and got lucky with the fact that it remained untouched by moths and the like during its time in storage," Daisuke answered as he slid his hands behind his back and held them there like some old professor giving a lecture.

"Well, it's going to make you even harder to ignore. So there's that," Motohama said.

"A blessing and a curse, mates," Daisuke said after anxiously sighing. "Ugh, I've been dreading this moment."

Motohama rang the doorbell. After about 20 seconds of waiting, someone answered the door. This someone happened to be Murayama of the Kendo Club in Kuoh Academy, who also happened to be the hostess of the party. Her hair was brown and tied into two pigtails that dropped slightly below her shoulders with two locks of her hair dangling from the sides of her head. She bore beautiful emerald-green eyes that glistened in the moonlight. She was a beautiful woman bearing a round face and eyes. For attire, she wore a long red dress, which complimented her womanly build, alongside red heels and a golden ring on her left hand. She immediately grunted in frustration upon seeing Motohama at her doorstep.

"I said you pervs can only come in if you..." Murayama said as she looked behind the bespectacled Motohama, who was sporting a grin that can only be described as cocky, to see Daisuke dressed in the fancy outfit standing beside Matsuda. His eyes were like lights shining with a bright yellow-orange glow in the dimness of the night. "Briiiinnng..." she dragged on as if processing the scenario. She leaned in close to Motohama. "What did you do to persuade him?"

"I'm afraid that is a secret that I cannot tell," Motohama replied.

"You sure? Not even for a peek?" Murayama whispered once again as she provocatively pulled on her dress collar. Motohama's composure gave way and his face became flushed with red in response to the sudden offer. It caused him to jump a bit as well. Just how far will a girl go to get with the good looking guys? Motohama looked back towards Daisuke before he regained his composure.

"Man, going for the low blows already. This is going to be just as hard for us as it is for him," Motohama thought before answering with a shake of his head. "No can do."

Murayama froze momentarily in response to Motohama's reply. "Did I hear that correct? Did you just turn down a chance to see breasts?" Murayama asked with a look of utter astonishment upon her face.

Motohama answered this with a reluctant nod that tore him up inside as he did it. "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. This whole 'tone down your open perversity' plan better work, Daisuke," Motohama thought, internally steaming at the missed opportunity to enter his own Nirvana.

Murayama raised her hand to her mouth. "Oh my God," she whispered as she peered over to Matsuda, who was conversing with Daisuke, then at Daisuke himself. "This has to be a dream or something. A sick joke played by my head. I'll wake up, go to class, and find out these two are still perverts and that the Kasais were just parts of the dream. There is no way that this is real," Murayama thought, feeling the falsely mandated laws of her perceived reality collapsing in on themselves. In short, she had no idea what was going on.

Motohama signaled Daisuke up to him to try to introduce him to Murayama. Daisuke approached them with some aid from Matsuda.

"Daisuke, I would like you to meet Murayama. She is a member of the Kendo Club and is the one who arranged this party," Motohama said to Daisuke, trying to break him out of his shell quickly while also getting some petty revenge.

Thoughts flowed through Daisuke's head at an insanely rapid pace and his body became rigid. Despite this, Daisuke hid his distress with a gentle smile. "Come on, you coward. Do something. Shit, shit, shit. Alright, let me try to rationalize my choices. Would I rather be embarrassed briefly or be known as a rude guest by a girl, whom of which may spread the word and cause my social downfall? Damn it, she's looking at me! Do something, body!" Daisuke thought in a panic. For a moment, his rigidity gave way, allowing a form of flow to his movement. Daisuke, instead of speaking, gave a flamboyant bow to Murayama. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! What am I doing? It's a damn house party, not a prom! Shit, shit, shit!" he internally panicked before he looked up to see a blushing Murayama peering down at him. "She's blushing? Did I do something right, or did I just make myself look like a fool again?"

Murayama, despite having two of the biggest perverts in Kuoh at her doorstep, seemed like she was in absolute bliss: maybe even somewhat aroused. "Even if this is a dream, I'm going to ride it out and make the best of it before I wake up," Murayama thought as she visualized herself dancing alone with Daisuke. Her thoughts wandered off into more _in-depth scenarios_ before being snapped back into reality by her own conscience "Wait, am I becoming a pervert now?" she thought as her blush intensified.

Daisuke managed to straighten up his posture, using all of his willpower to refrain from engaging his self-defense screech and blowing out the eardrums of everyone within a nine mile radius in the process.

"Please, come in," Murayama said to Daisuke, in specific, before turning to Motohama and Matsuda with stern eyes and speaking with a sharp voice. "You two. Behave yourselves while you're here."

* * *

Daisuke, still panicking internally, entered the building before Motohama and Matsuda. The house was rowdy, to say the least, with 29 people excluding Daisuke, Motohama, Matsuda, and Murayama. The party was primarily centered in an open living room with a gray carpet and eggshell walls. A couch, two chairs, and a coffee table sat out in front of a large T.V. placed up against a wall made up the central decor. Along the walls lied a few cabinets and photos primarily consisting of the Kendo Club and what were assumed to be friends and family members.

One of the attendants happened to be the dear friend of Murayama, Katase. She bore fairly short pink hair, which was held back in the front by an eggshell-colored headband, that rarely reached below her chin and simple brown eyes that heavily contrasted her vibrant hair color. While not as voluptuous as Murayama, she wasn't to be scoffed at in that department. Her face was more adorable than beautiful with her gentle rounded details. She wore a simple white blouse and blue knee-length skirt combination topped off with white sandals. Standing off to the side, conversing with four other party-goers, the sounds of Daisuke's clicking footsteps caused her to turn her head and notice the man near the doorway. She anxiously waved to him with slight smile, prompting more anxiety to rise in Daisuke.

"Alright, it is just a return wave. Nothing much to worry about. This is one of the few things I can do right," Daisuke thought as he returned the wave. Katase began to move towards him along with the people she was conversing with, which happened to include another girl. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he thought, once again panicking. "There is now a lot to worry about! Alright, how am I going to do this? How am I going to do this?"

"Hello there, Daisuke. How nice of you to come," Katase said, her head angled back and her hands clasped together at her waist.

"Shit, shit, shit. How do I respond without making myself look like an idiot? Should I just return a hello? No... that'll ignore the second part of her statement. Well, I've got to say something," Daisuke thought. "Gree-" he began before being interrupted by Katase.

"This here-" Katase began before catching herself. "Oh, sorry. You go ahead."

"Okay, I can work with this," Daisuke thought, finding brief respite in the awkward occurrence. "No, it's fine. You can go ahead and finish your thought."

Motohama overheard the introduction between the two. Resting his hand on his chin, he pondered. "Did he already get over his shyness? You can't be serious," Motohama thought.

Motohama's assumption, however, was far from the truth.

"Okay, she's still smiling. That means I did something right… I think," Daisuke contemplated while keeping his charismatic facade.

"Anyway, this here is Hayashi Gekkou, Himura Akashi, Moto Chikaya, and Chiyonosuke Chihaku," Katase said as she pointed towards each person.

Gekkou stood not much shorter than Daisuke. She bore hazel eyes and long, curly brown hair that reached her upper-mid back. Her face bore sharp features like Daisuke, but to a lesser extent. Her skin was noticeably tanned, bearing a darker skin tone than the rest of the group she was with. She wore a large white T-shirt alongside hotpants and sneakers much like the casual attire Motohama and Matsuda donned. She was also rather fit to top it all off. Alongside being fit she was also fairly curvy, but not as much as Akeno or Rias. One look at her and one could tell that she was an energetic and fun-loving individual, if not a bit assertive.

Akashi towered over Daisuke: even more so than Ai. His skin was almost alarmingly pale, which was contrasted by his borderline black chin-length hair. Not much could be made of his face aside from being rather well sculpted and that he had an unsettling smile due to a pair of dark shades he wore. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt, dark blue jeans, and black boots. It was hard to tell if he was fit or just scrawny due to the way he was dressed. To be frank, he looked like he was going through a bit of a phase.

Chikaya was a slight bit shorter than Issei. He was slightly tanned and bore short, brown hair with one side slightly hanging down in his face with matching brown eyes. He seemed to have either hated the party or had an unpleasant resting face that gave him a constant sharp glare and scowl. It was most likely the later due to the fact that, if he wasn't enjoying the party, he would've simply left by now. He wore a brown, short-sleeved shirt alongside brown cargo shorts and sandals. Lastly, his physicality was average. He seemed to be the most ordinary out of the four.

Chihaku was roughly as tall as Ai, if not a little shorter. His skin was pale and his hair, which he wore in a ponytail, was long and dark blue in color. He sported a face with rounded features, a warm and welcoming smile, and gentle blue eyes. He wore a blue hoodie alongside dark-blue sweatpants and black sneakers. He also wore a pince-nez, which was essentially a combination of a monocle and a pair of reading glasses. Oddly enough, he carried a book that seemed to have at least 600 pages just judging by appearance. It was difficult to see the title, as both the spine and cover was obscured by his body. He was average in terms of physicality, much like Chikaya. Overall, he seemed to be rather intelligent and sophisticated despite his casual attire.

"A little fancy for a house party, don't ya think?" Gekkou asked Daisuke.

Daisuke stood in silence, planning on how he would approach that statement. "Shit, shit, shit. What do I say to that without sounding rude or feeble?" he thought as he subconsciously narrowed his eyes.

"Don't take it too seriously, dude. Just want ya to know that your penguin suit might get a little dirty." Gekkou interjected.

"And all the effort that went into formulating a decent response was reduced to nothing. What do I say now?" Daisuke thought as he dropped his concentration. "It's fine. I just zoned out momentarily," he responded almost instinctively. "There I go again saying things without thinking! Why am I such a bloody idiot!?"

Matsuda walked up beside Daisuke and attempted to chat with the group. "What's goin' on over here guys?" Matsuda said as he flung his arm over Daisuke's shoulder while sporting a massive smile.

Katase's pleasant expression immediately dropped to a scowl upon him butting in.

"Ugh. I almost forgot that you two would be here. Keep in mind that you are only here because we wanted Daisuke to show up. Doesn't change our opinions of you whatsoever with you being here," Katase made her cutting remark towards Matsuda.

Suddenly, a rush of anger pulsed through Daisuke. Despite only knowing the two for a day, he considered the two good friends and good people despite the harsh words Katase had spilt from her mouth. His mind went blank and his thoughts became cloudy. He retaliated, without thinking, in the form of a verbal outburst.

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from speaking so hatefully towards these two. I used to have the same narrow-minded view as you, but I have had my eyes opened up to what lies beyond that common belief. Despite what many think, they aren't bad people. Lechers they may be, but everyone has flaws in one form or another: some more so than others. Much like any flaw, lechery is something they can overcome. In fact, I'm actually trying to help them with their rather unsavory problem. I think they are doing rather well, if you ask me. You can ask Murayama for confirmation on that if you don't believe me. I'm certain she can vouch in favor of my claims. Besides, you should be rather thankful that lechery is their signature flaw, and not something more unpleasant. In fact, I know a person who bears no qualms with offing another at the drop of a dime," Daisuke lectured Katase while bearing the same displeased gaze he once gave the Perverted Trio. His piecing gaze and sharp tongue made Katase shrink as the other four backed up slightly.

After the burst of words, Daisuke's thinking realigned itself and he internally panicked once more upon realizing what he had done. "Just bloody kill me now! I regret ever agreeing to this arrangement. Here I thought today couldn't get any worse," he thought, now accepting his soon-to-be social downfall.

Matsuda stood slack-jawed at the sudden change in Daisuke's temperament. The fact that he spoke so strongly and confidently to a girl despite being rendered a nervous wreck earlier today was quite a shock to him. "Hot damn. She musta struck one Hell of a nerve," he thought.

Motohama, who was following behind Matsuda while not being quite there in the conversation, overheard Daisuke's outburst. He grit his teeth as he pondered the reason for Daisuke's sudden burst of confidence. "Okay, now I'm starting to think that his shyness is just an act,"

Katase was also shocked by Daisuke's outburst, but for reasons that differed from Matsuda's and Motohama's, as evidenced by her widened eyes and her backward angled posture. There was a deafening silence among the group, whom of which were recovering from the sudden verbal outcry from Daisuke until, eventually, Gekkou attempted to break the silence.

"You okay, dude?" Gekkou asked Daisuke while gently putting a hand on his arm.

"Excuse me a moment, please?" Daisuke responded before he made his way to the front door and turning left upon his exit, passing by Motohama and Murayama on the way.

* * *

While Daisuke left the building to vent, Murayama made her way towards the six after looking back at the stressed Daisuke. "What happened?" she inquired with a shake in her voice before turning to Matsuda with a scowl.

"Before you throw accusations at anyone, I will tell you that he did nothing," Chikaya said to Murayama with a tone both sharp and blank.

"Is that true?" Murayama asked the rest of the group.

Akashi simply nodded in response.

"Verily," Chihaku answered.

"It was kind of my fault Murayama. I think I said something that upset him," Katase admitted as she hung her head low.

Murayama let out a sigh before comforting Katase. "I'm certain you didn't mean it. He probably knows that too, but just needs some time to calm himself," Murayama said to Katase as she manually raised her head to meet eyes with her.

"I'll go n' keep an eye on him for ya. I'll make sure he comes back." Gekkou said. She began lightly jogging her way towards the door while Motohama and Matsuda stared intently at her rear, disappearing from sight upon turning left to follow Daisuke.

"Damn, she's got a fat ass," Matsuda thought.

"Hotpants: God's Gift Upon the Eyes of Men," Motohama thought.

"Stare all you want, you two; but do know that Gekkou would break you both simultaneously if you were to go there with her. She needs someone just as wild as she to tame her; and I can tell that you two do not meet that qualification just by a simple glance," Chikaya said as he loomed behind Motohama and Matsuda, only barely being eye level with Matsuda's chin.

"How can you be sure of that?" Motohama asked as he looked down at the perpetual scowl on Chikaya's face. He changed the subject almost immediately. "What's your problem?"

"To answer the first, I've known Gekkou for a fair amount of time. She has done many a life-threatening stunt, like jumping into a lion enclosure; which she did just last week. I have to keep an eye on her so that she doesn't kill herself. I don't think you or your friend could keep up with her lifestyle," Chikaya answered with a single finger pointed outwards before raising another. "Secondly, I have no problem. This is just how I look naturally. I believe it was called 'Resting Bitch Face' according to Gekkou's comments."

"So she's not all there in the head?" Motohama asked.

"Yes... and no. She displays symptoms of ADHD, but refuses to get diagnosed. It is currently unconfirmed if she, indeed, suffers from it. I genuinely feel that a diagnosis is not needed to decide that, hence the whole lion enclosure incident," Chikaya answered.

"So she was the girl on the news a week ago," Murayama said. "Some 12 year old went in after her and... fell... in...oh," she said, slowing to a halt upon glaring over at Chikaya staring intently at her.

"Yes, yes, let's laugh at the dwarf who face-planted into lion shit and risked his life to save a friend's life from a pride of maned man-eating apex predators," Chikaya said with an increase in volume and a slightly aggressive tone as he brought his forearms upwards in a almost shrug-like posture.

"Dude, don't get all upset. We ain't gonna laugh about that. Ya got more balls than we do, short or not," Matsuda said as he put a hand on Chikaya's shoulder.

"Well, at least you have some sense of respect. A group of ragamuffins a few hours before me and the other three got here made jokes at my expense because of it. Irked me to no end," Chikaya said after letting out a sigh and lowering his volume back to a mellow level.

"Well, if ya need help, I can kick their asses for ya," Matsuda offered as he smashed his fist into his palm and cracked his knuckles.

"Not needed. Akashi has that covered," Chikaya refused as he pointed over towards the grim, tall man. "One look at him and they went running like they saw Death himself."

"Yeah, what is with him anyway?" Matsuda asked as he refrained from looking at the man.

"He's a recluse most of the time and rarely speaks. That aside, he is a loyal friend who would rather stand at the side and wait until he is needed. I wouldn't recommend trying to pry any information about himself out of him. His lips are like a vault when he chooses not to speak," Chikaya answered as he walked up to and put a hand on Akashi's forearm. The difference in height was immense; like comparing a poodle to a full grown wolf. Akashi gained a slight curl to his mouth, an unsettling smile, to accompany the pale canvas of his face and shades that hid eyes of unknowable beauty or terror. The sight chilled Matsuda to the bone.

"Dude's scary as Hell," Matsuda remarked.

"He likes it that way," Chikaya responded. "Makes social interaction more avoidable."

"Why is he wearing such dark shades indoors? I don't think that is a safe thing to do," Katase intervened.

"He has... odd eyes. That, and he has accustomed himself to similar light levels and feels most comfortable with them on. He can actually see us fairly well even in the dark of night," Chikaya answered as he waved to Akashi to prove his point, to which Akashi waved back in confirmation before Chikaya returned to the group of four.

"What about him?" Motohama asked as he pointed over towards the fellow bearer of eyewear, Chihaku, who had his face buried in the book he carried with him.

"He is an avid literature freak. He's a very smart and charismatic guy if you can learn to decipher at least half the stuff he says," Chikaya answered.

"Is he a librarian?" Murayama asked.

"I've honestly never asked him that. Probably is since he carries at least one novel everywhere he goes. He's either that or a regular to the public library," Chikaya answered.

"And here I thought Gekkou was the speaker of this group. Where was this talkative attitude earlier, Chikaya?" Katase asked.

"I serve that role when she's not around. It has to be that way; otherwise, Akashi would stare at you with a nervous smile until you left or you would be asking Chihaku to repeat himself every half a sentence. I don't think either party wants to put up with that shit," Chikaya answered.

"I guess that does make sense," Katase remarked.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Mountains, 6:20 PM****

Back to the ORC and Student Council still hiding behind their barrier as a one-sided fight between a band of Ogres and an Anzû commenced. Some of the Ogres stood their ground and tossed massive rocks at the avian creature while some ran and scurried for cover. The once clear skies became a darkly clouded mess as rain, strong winds, and lightning swept across the battlefield.

Among the chaos stood the bird, still perched on the same peak as before, with electric blue highlights glowing against the darkened sky that hid its black body, leaving only ominous blue lights to be the indicator of its form.

The Devils, completely fear stricken, hid behind their barrier. With every strike of lightning that hit the barrier, a pained grunt from Sona's group was heard as they tried to hold the line.

"Hey Ddraig, what are the chances of us gettin' out of this?" thought Issei with a minor quake.

"We should be fine so long as the barrier holds. It'll most likely leave after getting its fill of Ogres. Whatever you do, **do not challenge it,** " Ddraig answered with urgency hanging on his last words.

The Anzû ejected a jet of water from its mouth that cut through several Ogres like a razor-sharp blade. With one paltry turn of its neck, it split seven Ogres horizontally. Three of the remaining Ogres charged towards the Anzû only to be cooked alive by the crackling electricity that shot from its body. This left nine Ogres, six of which hid behind large rocks in fear of the avian creature. Unfortunately for the Ogres, mighty winds generated from the storm toppled the rocks onto the cowardly Ogres and crushed them.

Suddenly, the storm stopped and the skies cleared as if the Anzû willed it. In front of it stood the three remaining Ogres: two lackeys and the alpha.

"What's it doing?" whispered Issei to with a minor tremble in his voice.

"It's playing with its food," Rias responded, being quiet with her words as well to not draw attention.

Issei gulped nervously, knowing that they would soon be next on the menu.

The Ogres charged and struck at the Anzû's wings in an attempt to cripple the bird. With each strike, their hands became more and more bloody; the blood, however, was not from the Anzû. Gasjes covered the beasts' hands as they howled in pain. It was as if the feathers of the bird were razors. Not only that, but the very feathers of the bird remained undamaged. Was it even possible to harm it?

In retaliation, the Anzû bent down and plucked one of the three surviving Ogres from the ground with its beak before proceeding to swallow it whole, silencing the panicked cries of the beast permanently. It plucked another Ogre off the ground before taking it and the unfortunate creature high above the clouds at an absurd speed, thunder sounding as it flapped its wings before vanishing behind a blanket of white. Within the cloud, a large flash of light was seen; a shadow of the beast cloaked the battlefield and the very mountain itself. The Anzû returned to its perch just as quickly as it left, empty-handed. The Ogre it abducted was nowhere to be seen.

The leading Ogre stood its ground, roaring at the bird in an attempt at threatening it. The Anzû, in response. opened its mouth and a bright-blue sphere of electricity formed in its mouth. The blue highlights faded from its body and eyes entirely, revealing green eyes and a solid black body as the light from the sphere gradually became more and more intense. The, now solid black, bird struck the Ogre with an intense and concentrated beam of electricity from its mouth, leaving behind not even ash. The poor brute had no chance as it was sublimated: turned from a solid form straight to gaseous remains.

"I'm gonna die a virgin! What the Hell do we do against that!?" Issei thought.

The Anzû turned its attention to the walled-off Devils. It strafed around the group, seemingly analyzing the barrier before walking towards them. It stopped right in front of the barrier and slouched over to get a close look at the Devils.

"Whatever you do, don't let the barrier fall. This is the only thing between us and death," Sona said quietly, not wanting to further irritate the creature.

A spell of silence befell the Devils. When staring into the beady eyes of the black bird, time felt as if it slowed to a crawl. The silence was broken by a charred corpse crashing upon the ground in front of Asia. The corpse was barely recognizable as most of it had been reduced to singed bone and muscle that was still ablaze. Had it not been for the burly build, gnarly mouth, and context of the situation, it would've never been identified as the unfortunate Ogre the Anzû personally took to its domain: the sky. Asia let loose a mortified shriek upon seeing the mangled and burnt brute.

The Anzû, instead of attacking in response to the loud noise, leisurely plucked the scattered remains of the Ogre from the ground and ate them. It moved onto the Ogres that were crushed under boulders and began to devour them as well after kicking away the rocks, turning its attention away from the Devils.

* * *

"It lost its charge, should we attack?" Koneko asked Rias.

"No, something feels off. It's deliberately ignoring us; it has to be. We'll have to devise a plan before it grows impatient," Sona interrupted.

Issei's mind drifted off, unsure about what the others were saying. "Charge? What are they going on about?" Issei thought.

"Anzûs glow a bright blue on certain parts of their bodies after consuming a certain amount of electricity. When this happens, their magic is much stronger and they are protected by an aura of high-voltage electricity that fries anything that gets too close if they wish it to be so," Ddraig explained.

"So when it shot that big beam of lightning, it lost its charge?" Issei asked.

"That is correct, but the fact that it got rid of its charge before dealing with us is odd. Like Sitri is implying, it must be planning something," Ddraig responded.

" **Planning?** " Issei once again asked.

Anzûs are notorious for their cunning. Despite being beasts, they are much smarter than most Devils and are more than capable of devising intricate plans to take down prey far stronger than themselves. To rush one down blindly would be nothing short of suicide."

"Well, that explains why those Ogres didn't even stand a chance. Dumbasses shoulda ran."

"That wouldn't help anyway. It is a bird; birds fly, Ogre's can't. I would advise listening to your friends instead of me right now. They're formulating a plan that will most likely involve you at some point," Ddraig said before becoming unresponsive.

Issei snapped out of his trance. Fortunately for him, he was just in time to hear the plan to take down the Anzû.

"Vladi, we're going to need you to step out in front and use your Forbidden Balor View once the Anzû gets close," Sona said, looking at Gasper.

"You're going to throw me out in front?" Gasper exclaimed in utter terror before running behind Issei. "Issei, please don't let them do this," Gasper plead as he cowered behind his friend.

Rias slowly made her way towards Gasper. She knelt down beside him and hugged him in an attempt at calming him down.

"It has to be this way Gasper. Once you freeze time, our plan can go into action. If you don't follow through, we may not make it out alive. We need you to be brave. I understand that you are afraid; we all are right now. If we are to get through this, you need to look past your fear for at least this one time," Rias gently explained to Gasper while caressing him.

"I believe in ya buddy. Do this, and I'll be sure to get ya a nice mask to wear instead of that old paper bag," Issei said with a smile while putting a hand on Gasper's shoulder.

Gasper's tears of fear ceased their streaming as his frown turned to a weak smile. "I'll try my best."

Sona went back into explaining the plan.

"Alright then, Saji will use his Absorption Line while Vladi freezes the Anzû to ensure that it can't escape from close combat while also inhibiting its magic capabilities. Saji will then be promoted to a Rook while Yura and Toujou anchor him so that the Anzû doesn't carry him away," Sona explained.

Issei turned to look back, mid-explanation, at the Anzû only to find the unexpected. His face turned to a fine mixture of relief and exhaustion. "Hey, guys," Issei said to the others, who failed to hear him.

"Asia, it is your job to tend to the wounded. Momo and Reya will protect you if the need arises," Sona said to Asia.

"Hey… guys," Issei said once again. Unfortunately, he wasn't heard yet again.

"It is Kiba's, Quarta's, Nimura's, and Meguri's jobs to attack the creature in the air while Shinra, Rias, and I attack the creature with magic. Himejima will create a barrier to trap the Anzû in case it does manage to break its tether. While this is happening, Hyoudou will use his Boosted Gear to boost himself and deliver a full power Dragon Shot," Sona continued.

"Ya know what? Imma let them find out," Issei said before taking a seat on the ground.

"Find out what?" Rias asked to the surprise of Issei, who didn't expect anyone to hear him for a third time.

"Oh, that the Anzû thing is long gone," Issei said while pointing behind him.

"What?" Rias exclaimed. This grabbed the attention of the rest of the group, who also noticed the absence of the bird.

"Where did it go?" Sona asked as she looked around in every direction with grit teeth and wide eyes. "Eyes to the sky!"

"Oh, it went that way. Someone needs to get birdbrain a map, 'cause it's goin' the wrong way if it wants to get a big meal," Issei said, still pointing in the direction of the bird.

In the distance, the massive black bird could be seen flying just about level with the peak it was standing on. With thunder sounding upon each beat of its wings, it began to ascend. The bird returned to the cover of the clouds as the sound of thunder became more and more faint until completely fading from earshot. The Devils had survived the encounter with what was essentially a living storm of destruction.

* * *

"Oh, thank goodness. It just stopped by for a high-protein snack while it was migrating, it seems. It is odd how there was no booms from its wings when it left though," Akeno said with a relieved tone and a smile.

"Eh, it hopped off the mountain and glided for a bit before actually flappin' its wings," Issei said.

"Well then, we got all worked up over nothing," Rias said as she sighed in relief.

Genshirou sat on the ground and also let out a long sigh of relief before speaking. "Anyone else exhausted?"

"Physically or mentally?" Issei responded.

"Both," Genshirou said.

"Then yes," Issei followed up as he plopped his back against the ground and stared up into the sky.

"Anyone else?" Genshirou asked as he turned his head towards the rest of the group.

Sona's group, now dirtied and slouching over with some even collapsing on the floor in exhaustion having bore the brunt of everything today, was drained of energy after the encounter. Rias's group was less so, but it was obvious that they couldn't keep going on with today's training after the Anzû encounter.

"Should we call it a day?" Rias inquired.

Sona hung her head in contemplation, sweat running down her face and onto her glasses. She rose her head back up and spoke. "I am reluctant to say this, but we'll have to cut training short for today. Me and Rias will take the extra time to go over and revise our training regiments while you all get some rest. It is not safe to sleep up in the mountains considering what had happened, so we're going to have to head back to Kuoh," Sona announced while forcing herself not to pant in exhaustion in front of her Peerage.

Sona's group let out a collective sigh. They did not want to take the long trek back, but knew that sleeping here would mean danger. Reluctantly, they walked toward the trail they had took to the plateau.

"Don't worry, me and Rias will use magic circles to teleport us back. No need for a trek when some of us are barely able to stand," Sona said to the relief of her group.

* * *

 ** **House Party, 6:30 PM****

Back to the party, which was going south for Daisuke after he spoke out against Katase. Following behind him was Gekkou while Akashi, Chikaya, Chihaku, Katase, and Murayama stayed with Motohama and Matsuda at the party.

"Well, today ended in an absolute failure after a sequence of failures," Daisuke thought as he leaned up against the side of a building roughly five blocks away from the party house. "If only I brought my..." Daisuke thought, reaching into his right pocket and pulling out a pocketbook. His eyes narrowed and he left out a sharp exhalation. "Notes… which I forgot were in my pants pocket. Bloody Hell."

Daisuke heard a voice call to him in the distance. He turned to see Gekkou jogging towards him, waving her arm; her wild hair fluttering and her chest displaying a fair deal of bounce.

"Hey!" Gekkou exclaimed as she made her way to Daisuke.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Daisuke thought as he tried to slide his pocketbook back into his right pocket.

Gekkou managed to reach him before he was able to fully conceal his notes, leaving them sticking halfway out of his pocket. "You alright dude? Ya seemed kinda mad back there."

Daisuke's anger was still present despite his indifferent expression; this time, however, his rage was directed at himself instead of Katase's words. "I'm fine."

"Ya sure? 'Cause someone who's fine doesn't storm out of a building like that," Gekkou rebutted.

Daisuke then slightly turned his head to the left. "Yes, I'm sure," Daisuke said before returning his gaze to Gekkou.

When Daisuke looked back towards Gekkou, she was reading a book. This caused Daisuke to subconsciously check his right pocket only to find nothing there. This caused a panic in Daisuke, realizing what had happened. Gekkou had snagged Daisuke's notes without him noticing. His face began to glow crimson as he snatched his notes away from Gekkou.

Gekkou got giddy and a large smile formed on her face. "Ya know they're gonna find out eventually? About everything? Right?" Gekkou asked.

Daisuke then let out a defeated sigh before speaking. "Yes, I know."

"Don't worry, I won't tell about this; but ya owe me," Gekkou said with a somewhat devious smile. "Now come on, the party just started."

"Alright. It would be rude to leave so early anyway," Daisuke said.

"Even if ya were to stay here, I'd probably drag ya back to the party. Made a promise that I'd bring ya back," Gekkou remarked.

The two headed back to the party. Gekkou walked within arms length of Daisuke to lower the risk of him running off while Daisuke sorted through his thoughts of how he was going to handle the situation with Katase.

* * *

Meanwhile, the five that remained at the party conversed with one another.

"Does Daisuke often behave like that?" Murayama asked Motohama.

"No. This is actually the first time I've seen him this bad off," Motohama responded.

"Oh, this is all my fault," Katase lamented as she cupped her face in her hands.

"Don't be like that; I'm sure he will forgive you. He's just a bit on edge today," Matsuda said while putting one of his hands on each of her arms in an attempt at comforting her.

"Stress tends to be the usual answer for having a short fuse. Plus, he doesn't look like the type of person who is easily angered; it checks out with me," Chikaya added.

"Why is he stressed today? Maybe I can help," Katase offered.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. He should be much more composed by tomorrow," Motohama said, declining Katase's offer.

"I sure hope so," Katase said before she looked up at Murayama. "By the way, Daisuke mentioned that he is teaching Motohama and Matsuda to be less perverted and said that you could vouch. Is that true?" Katase asked Murayama.

"As much as I don't believe it, yes. I offered Motohama a peek at my chest in an exchange. I was awfully surprised when he declined," Murayama responded.

"That's probably why he is so stressed. Having to fix you two and your perversity would be a handful," Katase said while looking towards Motohama and Matsuda with a face, not of anger, but of hope.

Motohama, seeing the chance to make a cover-up for the real reasons Daisuke was stressed, eagerly jumped at the opportunity. "Yeah, we gave the guy Hell all day. That has to be expected though, since this is just the beginning," Motohama said while scratching the back of his head to emulate a false sense of embarrassment.

"Well, you two better thank him by the time this is over. You will be owing him a lot," Katase said with a gentle smile, that of which sent Motohama's and Matsuda's spirits high. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smiling Gekkou walking towards them with Daisuke, no longer irritated, by her side. **  
**

"Hey guys, brought 'em back like I said," Gekkou said as she advanced towards them. The two advanced until they were standing beside Motohama, Matsuda, and Murayama. Gekkou returned to the side of Katase, Akashi, Chikaya, and Chihaku.

"I'm sorry Daisuke. I hope you're not still mad at me," Katase said to Daisuke as she looked down to avoid eye contact with him.

"He's not, don't worry. If anything, ya should probably be apologizing to these two," Gekkou said to Katase while pointing at Motohama and Matsuda.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Matsuda said before Katase could even get a word out. "Water under the bridge."

The group fell silent and the tension dissipated. Katase was able to meet eye to eye with Daisuke yet again and Daisuke's anger faded, leaving him unable to speak a word yet again.

"Well, let's not mope around. We got all night to let out some energy. I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna get crazy tonight," Gekkou said as she made her way back to the rowdy crowd in the center of the room.

"I'm going to have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," Chikaya said before following behind Gekkou.

Akashi, instead of speaking before leaving, silently followed behind Chikaya into the crowd without hesitation.

"I shall read a few chapters ere celebrating. Never wait up for me, for't may take a fair amount of time ere I finish," Chihaku said before cracking open his book.

Matsuda's left eyebrow raised out of confusion as a result of Chihaku's dialect. "Could you repeat that?" Matsuda asked.

"I shall read a few chapters ere celebrating. Never wait up for me, for't may take a fair amount of time ere I finish," Chihaku repeated.

"That was what I thought you said," Matsuda responded. "Now let me ask ya this, what does 'ere' mean?"

"Ere means 'before' in Old English, mine friend," Chihaku answered.

"Oh, you're one of those Shakespeare dudes," Matsuda added.

"Not exactly," Chihaku rebutted. "Shakespearean dialect differs a fair bit from Old English. I could school thou some Old English if thou desire," Chihaku offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but me and fancy words don't get along too well. I'll be heading to where the party's at if ya need me," Matsuda declined, making his way towards the crowd.

"I don't mind learning some," Motohama said.

"Ah, another bespectacled fellow. Most well then. Join on," Chihaku said, adjusting his glasses before making his way to a bag full of books that he had lying against a wall as Motohama followed.

"Come on, Daisuke. Let's enjoy the rest of the day and try to forget that little fiasco," Katase said as she and Murayama walked with him into the crowd.

"I hope you don't expect to be keeping him to yourself the entire time, Katase," Murayama said.

"And here we go with the competitions. Stay strong," Daisuke thought.

* * *

 ** _ **That concludes this chapter. This one was pretty extensive and caused me to fall behind schedule a bit.**_**

 ** _ **I may take a little break between here and the next chapter depending on how I am feeling. Got sick over the past few days and had to force myself to work on this chapter.**_**

 ** _ **More OC's are in the mix now. This number is only going to grow as time moves on.**_**


	6. Volume 1:Life 5

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **An After-Party Proposition.**_

After surviving their encounter with what was essentially a mighty storm given form, the ORC and Student Council concluded their training for the day and returned to Kuoh. While the others rested, Sona and Rias planned to hold a meeting between themselves in the ORC club house. On the other end, Daisuke, Motohama, and Matsuda made their ways back to their homes.

* * *

 **Streets of Kuoh, 11:30 PM**

The party had come to a close a little later than planned and almost everyone left abruptly. The only attendants who stayed and cleaned the house were Motohama, Matsuda, Daisuke, Katase, and Murayama due to her position as hostess. The party wasn't as messy as parties tend to be, but there was still some things that needed to be tended to. After helping clean the whole house, Murayama and Katase bid farewell to the three for the day.

"Thank you for coming. It was really nice having you here," Murayama said, specifically to Daisuke as he, Matsuda, and Motohama stood just outside the house.

"It would've been rude of me not to come," Daisuke replied with a little confidence.

"And you two..." Murayama began, eyes fixated on Motohama and Matsuda. "I can't believe that I'm saying this; I genuinely wished that I brought you guys to more of my social gatherings. You're so charismatic, it's infectious," she said with a giggle.

"Don't take what Daisuke's doing for you lightly. I would hate to see you two slink back into being massive perverts. I'll be sure to tell the rest of the Kendo Club how much of a riot you guys are," Katase said before leaning forward with her hands on her hips, narrowed eyes, and a scowl. "Now don't think that means you two can peep in on us changing," she said in a stern tone.

Motohama and Matsuda both froze up, letting out a meek yelp as they did so.

Katase's scowl quickly changed to a jovial smile. She chuckled a little, which set the two at ease. "See you guys tomorrow," Katase said as she and Murayama waved to the three.

Motohama, Matsuda, and Daisuke made their ways back home. Sometime during their exit, before they disappeared into the night, Murayama and Katase both sounded off.

"Hey Daisuke!" the two girls yelled, prompting Daisuke to turn towards them.

Murayama and Katase both blew a kiss towards Daisuke.

He immediately froze up, but was able to at least form a smile of acceptance. Daisuke turned back around after a moment of immobility and the three continued into the night.

* * *

The three walked in silence for a fair bit of time, wanting to ensure that they were out of earshot before they started talking about anything.

"So, where did all of that confidence come from all of a sudden?" Motohama asked with a raised brow.

"What confidence?" Daisuke asked.

"Dude, you were chattin' it up the entire time," Matsuda added. "Don't tell me ya got over it already."

"Oh, no, no, no. That is not the case," Daisuke said as he reached into his pocket and took out his notes. "I was using these as a form of conversation guide."

"Oooooh, you sly dog," Matsuda responded before letting out a laugh. "Prepared for anything, aren't ya?"

"Not really. I completely forgot that I brought my notes until I stormed out in a most undignified manner."

"If that is the case, then why were you able to speak so clearly and confidently beforehand?" Motohama asked with a curious implication in his voice.

The three ceased their walking as Matsuda and Motohama gazed at Daisuke.

"That… is actually a good question. How were ya able to tell Katase off like that?" Matsuda added. "I know ya can really stick it to us when you're angry, but I'm kinda surprised ya lashed out at her."

Daisuke ran his hand through his well-groomed hair, displaying some semblance of embarrassment. "Whenever I get worked up, I tend to completely lose any form of caution in both words and actions. I often stop thinking and just act upon impulse like my sister said earlier today. You do remember that, right?"

"So we just have to get you angry in order to speak to a girl?" Motohama inquired, resting his chin on his thumb and index finger.

"It would seem that way, but I would rather not be perpetually simmering with anger just to speak; let us not resort to that option," Daisuke responded with crossed arms.

"We may have to do that 'til we can figure out another way, though," Matsuda stated.

"That's why I made notes; so I wouldn't have to result to anger as often," Daisuke said while waving his pocketbook with his gaze turned towards Matsuda. "As helpful as these may be, however, they don't cover every possible situation. So I still end up unable to speak often."

"Having these notes will further hinder your social abilities; you know that, right?" Motohama asked, attempting to snatch Daisuke's notes without him noticing only to have Daisuke slide them back into his pocket the moment Motohama attempted to take them. "It is like I said before; this isn't something you learn by lectures or notes," he said as he returned to his usual posture before Daisuke could glance back at him.

"Yes, I know. But I can't simply just speak to a girl on demand. I'm only using these until I get a firm understanding of the basics and to start up some entry-level small talk. Once I know the basics, everything else will become much simpler to understand," Daisuke said as he turned to look at Motohama.

"Then why do you need us if ya think ya can take care of this with just some notes? If we ain't helpin', don't be afraid to tell us," Matsuda inquired with a mild angry rumble in his voice.

"It is not that simple," Daisuke stated, returning with a slight rumble as well along with slightly narrowed eyes. "You can take all the notes you want, but they mean nothing if you can't apply them. I can't persist in a conversation with a lady unless there is something at risk if I abandon the conversation. I need you two to force upon me such a situation so that I can adapt and learn since I have a tendency to avoid such predicaments. It is much like how I need to utilize my popularity with ladies to provide you with a chance to boost your standing with them. All you must do besides that is reserve yourselves while I find a way to let myself loose," Daisuke explained before sighing. "Let's just leave the conversation as it is for now. I don't want animosity to form between us after how fruitful this friendship has become."

Matsuda calmed himself. "Sorry bud."

"It's fine, mate. I'll return to Ai and tell her the good news. She is going to be brimming with joy upon hearing how much progress we have made in a single day," Daisuke responded while putting a hand on Matsuda's shoulder.

"Speaking of your sister, she seems a little odd," Motohama said.

"I beg your pardon?" Daisuke spoke, cutting a sharp glare at Motohama. His grip on Matsuda subconsciously tightened, causing distress to culminate in the shaven hooligan as he signaled to Motohama to shut up.

"Don't take it the wrong way," Motohama explained. "It is just… she seems so happy. Too happy even."

"Oh, that," Daisuke said as his sharp gaze vanished and his grip loosened. "Everyone in my family has a problem of their own. I have my shyness and... _mild_ anger issues while my younger brother is a little dense—bless the poor thing—and my younger sister is rather antisocial and suspicious of others for someone her age," Daisuke said before Matsuda interrupted.

"You have a younger brother and sister?" Matsuda asked with increased volume, bordering on a yell.

"Yes. Their names are Ren Kasai and Ran Kasai. Probably the most adorable tykes you will see running around Kuoh. I'll introduce you to them tomorrow, if you wish," Daisuke offered.

"Sounds fine by me," Motohama responded.

"Sure," Matsuda responded.

"Anyway..." Daisuke continued. "My father is often too business-minded while my mother is a little emotionally overbearing and explosive. Then there's Ai," he said before he stopped again, harboring a sullen glare. "She doesn't like telling others about her problem. In fact, she desperately wants to keep it hidden from me, Ren, and Ran and only talks about it with my mother and father."

"Well, she told us about your problem. So wouldn't it be even then?" Motohama suggested.

"While it is true that she exposed my secret, it was merely accidental. I'm not going to harbor vengeful intentions for that. Even then, I still wouldn't tell," Daisuke explained.

"Man, you must care about her a lot," Matsuda remarked.

"I hold my family in the highest regards that I can. They were the only ones by my side through the thick of life; it would only be logical to think of them so," Daisuke said before releasing a yawn. "But enough of this talk, please. I'm exhausted mentally and physically after that party. And do refrain from telling her about this little conversation. If she knows that I know, she would be emotionally shattered."

The three continued their walk for a little longer before parting ways for today on a fork in the road. Matsuda and Motohama waved farewell to Daisuke and he waved back. Motohama and Matsuda parted once reaching another split and did the same.

* * *

Daisuke had arrived back home. Hoping to see the welcoming smile of his sister at the door, he was surprised when his father, Haru Kasai, had answered the door.

He was about a foot or two taller than Ai and was far more built. He bore a mild tan, making him darker in color than his two children. He bore hazel eyes with big bushy eyebrows hanging over them, short and wavy brown hair, and a thick beard encompassing his entire lower jaw. This made him look like a male lion given human form. It was either that, or a professional lumberjack. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with matching black shorts. It was obvious that he was either heading to sleep or that he was recently awoken from his slumber.

"Oh, greetings father. Where is Ai? I have great news to tell her." Daisuke asked his father.

"She left a few minutes ago. Said she had to speak to someone. Forgot who it was, to be honest. I think it started with a R," Haru answered in a gravelly voice and a loud yawn. "So, how was the party, Dai?"

* * *

 **Kuoh** **Academy Schoolyard, 11:50 PM**

After sending the rest of the ORC and Student Council off, Rias and Sona made their way to the ORC club to discuss their training regiments and how to improve them. During their walk, a thought stumbled its way into Sona's mind: a thought that caused her heart to sink as she looked down to the ground while the two Devils walked side-by-side.

"Sona," Rias began, leaning forward a little to get a read on her expression. "Is there a problem?"

Sona raised her head and looked towards Rias while bearing a slight scowl.

"It's odd. Ogres aren't native to the human world. They shouldn't be here at all," Sona responded.

"What are you getting at?" Rias inquired.

"Have you not noticed the abnormal lack of Stray Devil reports and Fallen Angel encounters as of lately? You would expect more confrontation from potential enemies when tension is this high," Sona responded once more.

"Now that you mention it, it has been eerily quiet. There's usually three or five Stray Devil reports daily. We haven't received a single report in three days. That, and I don't recall an Anzû ever migrating through Japan, let alone Kuoh. There is no way that the specimen we encountered today was the specimen that made its home in North America either. It was too large to be that one: too powerful as well," Rias said as she rested her chin on her left hand.

"If we don't hear from Serafall, Sirzechs, or Grayfia within the next week, we are going to have to prepare for the worst," Sona said as a figure in the background caught her eye before it ducked behind a wall. "We're not alone," Sona whispered to Rias before intently staring in the direction of the wall.

The field turned silent as the two stared towards the wall. Rias turned the rest of her body towards where Sona was staring, put on a pleasant façade, and called out. "Hello there. It's kind of late for you to be walking around a schoolyard," she said with plentiful energy in her voice in an attempt at drawing out whoever—or whatever—Sona had seen.

"Shit," a familiar voice spoke from behind the wall.

"Ise?" Rias questioned with increased volume in her voice. "What are you doing out here at night?"

"I saw that you had a troubled look on your face and decided to see what was up," Issei said as he came out from behind the wall. He began making his way to Rias and Sona. "I'm assumin' I wasn't supposed to hear that."

"Correct," Sona said with a scowl and a cutting glare.

"Ise..." Rias said as she placed both her hands on Issei's face and coerced him to look at her in the eyes. "It is of utmost importance that you refrain from telling the others of this. Whatever is happening is beyond us and is in the hands of Sirzechs and Serafall. They don't need us to mingle with their issues," Rias said with narrowed eyes and urgency in her voice. "Can you do that for me?"

Issei broke into a cold sweat due to the serious gaze Rias was giving. "Y-Yes, President," he stuttered.

Rias dropped her hands from Issei's face and turned her body to the right before sighing.

"I have a few questio-" Issei began before being cut-off by Sona.

"If any of your questions are about what is going on back in the Underworld, save your breath. That is information not even we have access to," Sona said with an assertive rumble in her voice.

Issei paused briefly as if to search for another question that had been plaguing his mind. His mind settled on that of the bird and the Ogres from before. "What are Anzûs exactly and what do you mean by Ogres not being native to this place?" Issei asked.

"So you're telling me that the entire time we were combating against one earlier, you never once asked about it?" Sona inquired while resting her face in her hand.

"Well, Ddraig gave me a little information," Issei replied while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

* * *

"Anzûs are a specie of very rare, cunning terrors of the sky that usually group up in flocks of four or five. They are called 'Living Storms of Destruction' due to their mastery over elemental magic and are one of the few species that can consistently threaten High-Level Dragons who make the grave decision to carelessly combat them. Their intellect rivals that of powerful mages despite being animals, making them a threat to anything short of a Satan or Ultimate-Class Devil if underestimated. They are often spotted in mountainous regions and often come down from their domain to feast or begin a destructive courtship ritual that leaves cities and even entire countries devastated." Rias explained.

"Damn, capable of threatening Dragons? Now it makes sense why you guys were so afraid." Issei remarked "But if they are often in groups, then why was the one we fought alone?"

"I have no idea. Anzûs almost exclusively hunt in flocks and there is no way it's mating season for them. Otherwise, hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, and the like would be striking worldwide. The only known case of a solitary Anzû is one in North America known to humans as a cryptid named the Thunderbird, but there is no reason for it to migrate through Kuoh," Rias replied.

"As for the Ogres..." Sona added, pulling her head off of her hand and readjusting her glasses. "Those creatures aren't meant to be in the human world at all. They are meant to live strictly in the Underworld due to their overall chaotic and invasive disposition. Someone had to have smuggled them here specifically to cause chaos."

Rias gazed off in numerous directions, seemingly uncomfortable with the setting. "We should probably stop talking about this out in the open. Let's continue this conversation inside the club house."

Issei and Son obliged.

* * *

The three Devils walked towards the club house, keeping absolute quiet the entire time. In about half an hour, they had arrived at the club house. Rias went ahead and opened the door, prompting Issei and Sona to go in ahead of her. Once the three entered the building, they noticed a tall figure cloaked in the darkness of the room standing over some portraits on the wall. It turned its head towards them in response to the noise of the door opening. The sight sent chills down their spines as they prepared for a fight.

"Who's there!?" Issei exclaimed as he raised his left arm, ready to activate Boosted Gear.

Rias turned on the lights in the room and revealed that the figure was actually the kind-hearted giant of a woman, Ai Kasai, who was gazing upon the portraits laid across the wall.

She was wearing different attire from when Issei had met her, no longer wearing the Kuoh Academy student outfit in favor of a more formal outfit. She wore a white button-up shirt that seemed a few sizes too small alongside a long blue skirt and blue heels. She bore a navy blue necktie and a predominately black vest with accents of silver over her shirt. Even with the wardrobe change, her abnormal height, prominent smile, shimmering black hair, and gentle blue eyes made her unmistakable.

"Oh, it's just Ai," Issei said as he lowered his arm and relaxed his body. "What are you doing here so late?" he asked while trying to refrain from staring at her chest, which was emphasized by her tight shirt. "Almost gave us a heart attack."

"I'm incredibly sorry. I know this is considered trespassing, but I had something that I just have to get off my mind." Ai said as she plucked a picture from a side-table and gazed at it.

"What would that be?" Rias inquired.

Ai, due to her great height, had to crouch down to return the portrait to the side-table and adjusted it so that it would be parallel to the edge. "I may not look the type, but I've been fascinated by the paranormal since times before I could even pronounce the word. I was wondering if, maybe, Daisuke and I could join this little club of yours?" Ai asked as she stood back up and turned herself towards Rias.

"You know you'd be diggin' his grave with Akeno being here, right?" Issei remarked.

"Yes, I know. But Motohama and Matsuda had told me that I need to thrust Daisuke out of his comfort zone in order for him to grow. That, and I'll protect him from her if need be."

"So the only reason you want to join is so that Daisuke can grow out of his flaw?" Rias inquired.

Ai's smile shrank a significant amount and her eyes immediately shuttered before pointing towards the floor in disappointment. She let out a short sigh. "Sorry, I've never been good at lying. I didn't want you to feel like I was using you. I just want to help my little Daisuke as much as I can," Ai said, still gazing at the floor.

"Hey, don't be like that. How about this: the Student Council is mostly girls, so why not put him there? He looks smart enough to fit in with him being a dictionary anyways," Issei suggested, unable to bear the sight of a saddened Ai. "I, personally, wouldn't mind havin' him here if it wasn't for the possibility of him getting cripplin' Akenophobia."

Sona cut a sharp gaze towards Issei. Her expression was practically screaming "What in the Hell are you thinking?"

"That sounds nice and all, but Souna knows pretty much nothing about me or my brother; she probably doesn't want anything to do with us. I don't want to be too much of a bother anyway. The Student Council probably has their hands full with planning meetings and the like," Ai responded, disappointed expression still present.

"I would like to know something, first of all." Sona, who was beginning to be affected by Ai's expression, began. "Rias told me that Daisuke has a little problem. I would like to know what it is."

"I thought you didn't care for such gossip, Souna," Rias teased, her mouth curling into a slight grin.

"I need to know so that I can adequately resolve the problem. She seems rather adamant about this decision and, if it isn't taken care of soon, may become rather obstructive for both of our groups in the near future. I've seen her type before: incredibly passive until they put all of their resolve into a single task. At that point, there would be no getting around her," Sona rebutted while turning her eyes left, towards Rias.

"It is true, and I'm sorry. I've been trying to help him for years to no avail. The idea that I could possibly make a change in him is an opportunity that I can't pass up," Ai said as her eyes, still shuttered and accompanied by a weakened smile, raised from the floor. She moved towards the three, having to bypass a couch in the process. "I wouldn't even mind if you just took Daisuke and forgot about me so long as I can help him."

The room fell silent with Rias and Sona pondering the offer while being victim to Ai's spell of pity whenever they gazed upon her face.

"If what Sona is saying is true, our choices are limited. But we can't just let them join either group, it is too risky. What if a Fallen Angel were to target the two and threaten us with their lives?" Rias thought as she glanced at Sona.

"If we play our cards right, this may be able to work. We may be able to keep them close with the absence of Fallen Angel or Stray Devil threats. Plus, if they see something they shouldn't have, it will be much easier and safer when trying to wipe their memory instead of having to search all of Kuoh. We may also be able to get some labor out of them by having them pass out fliers for our services," Sona thought as she glanced at Rias.

The two had a moment of silent understanding. Both realized the other had an opposing view and, as to not cause a scene, decided to put more thought into it later.

"Give us some time to think about it. Suddenly gaining a new member overnight can be a bit jarring for the other members and can cause some interstructural issues," Sona said, breaking the silence in the room as she turned her gaze back towards Ai. "But before I can help your brother, I have to know what is wrong with him."

Ai became ecstatic and her face turned to her usual positive expression bumped up to eleven. Her smile became infectious, causing the three Devils in front of her to at least grin in joy. She then spoke with a heightened tone. "Oh, yes. I forgot you asked about that, sorry. Honestly, you don't even have to know in order to help him out. Just him being in the Student Council should be enough to help him substantially."

"I hope what you're saying is true," Sona said.

"Anyway, I feel that I have overstayed my welcome. I'll be going now," Ai said as she made her way out of the club house, passing between Rias and Issei during her stride. Midway through her exit, she stopped and turned back towards the three Devils. "Oh, I also decided to tidy the place up. Think of it as a thank-you gift from me. Daisuke said that he'd be making snacks for you and the other members after class tomorrow as his own gift to you. If you want, Souna, I'll ask if he can make some for the Student Council as well."

"I appreciate the offer. Just tell him that he is not obligated to do so, though."

* * *

Ai nodded before turning back towards the exit and leaving the club house, leaving the three Devils to sort their thoughts regarding the situation.

"We're not going to really let them join, are we?" Issei asked.

"I'm not sure. I need to first hear Sona's reasoning for it," Rias responded as she and Issei turned their attention towards Sona.

"We should be fine so long as we carefully monitor what we do around them," Sona responded as she adjusted her glasses.

"But what about the Fallen Angels and those other douches? Aren't you worried that they will target them?" Issei inquired.

"I don't think they'll waste their time dealing with humans. Take Motohama and Matsuda for example: you're around them all the time, Hyoudou, and they have yet to be attacked due to ties with you," Sona responded as she glared at Issei then back at Rias. "We can also get some work out of them if need be. Plus, if they manage to witness something supernatural, their proximity to us will make it much easier to wipe those memories from their minds."

"You make a good point," Rias remarked. "You'll be getting Daisuke and we'll be getting Ai, correct?"

"That is fair," Sona responded in agreement.

* * *

 _ **That concludes this chapter, sorry for the wait. Life has been spinning my jaw as of lately, but that shouldn't suffice as an excuse.**_

 _ **Ai finally got herself some screen time. There will be more later on in the story, but that is it for now.**_

 _ **I may not be able to update this until, at the soonest, 1/31 as I'm going to lose internet for a period of time. So you know now why I'm going to be inactive in the future. I apologize for the inconvenience.**_


	7. Volume 1:Life 6

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **Club Meetings and the Twin Flowers.**_

It is the dawn of a new day. The ORC and Student Council prepare to meet their new members. The Student Council prepare to integrate Daisuke Kasai into their group while the ORC does the same for Ai Kasai.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 3:45 PM**

"So… we're really doing this? We're really letting humans into our little entourage?" Akeno inquired with an uncertain timbre in her voice.

Rias had already announced to the ORC that Ai was joining the group despite her better knowledge telling her not to. When asked by Akeno, Rias replied with the same uncertainty.

"I'm, honestly, not sure if I should," Rias said before sighing as she sat on one of the two couches in the main room.

"If you're not sure, then maybe you should call this off," Xenovia interjected as she carried a platter of treats towards the middle table of the main room. "She is human, anyway. This place and the business we partake in isn't meant for her."

Rias looked towards Xenovia. Her face curled to a mild frown as she gazed at Xenovia.

"I know that, but her disheartened face was utterly unbearable. It hurt to see such a cheery girl give off a look like that," Rias responded. "That, and Sona's reasoning for them joining was solid enough for me to accept."

"You talked to Sona about this?" Koneko inquired as she turned a corner into the room, also carrying confections.

"Yes, actually," Rias answered. "We agreed that it would be wise to keep them close, at least until the summit is over and done with. They've had too many encounters with us to be considered off of enemy radars, and thus must be temporarily kept by our side if they are to be safe."

"If that's the case..." Akeno began, a mischievous grin making its presence on her face. She turned her face away from the view of the others before speaking again. "What of Daisuke? Is he going to be joining us too?"

"No. He's actually going to be joining the Student Council instead," Rias answered, immediately catching on to Akeno's game.

"Oh, that is unfortunate," Akeno conceded as her grin vanished.

"Better keep Issei away from Ai then," Koneko interjected with her usual cold demeanor.

"I don't think Issei will be making any advances on Ai," Xenovia added as she placed her confections on the table.

"Why is that?" Koneko responded as she, too, placed her confections on the table.

"Issei never really advanced on Asia, who has a similar temperament to Ai. Based upon that knowledge, I think she'll be fine," Xenovia answered.

"Ai has bigger breasts than Asia. That pervert can't contain himself around them," Koneko retorted, leaving an air of hostility towards Issei.

Koneko made her way towards a slightly drooping welcoming banner before readjusting it while Xenovia organized the confections she and Koneko had brought to the table.

Akeno turned back towards Rias. "Speaking of which, where is Asia?"

"I sent her and Kiba to bring Ai to the club house. They should be here in about thirty minutes, granted Ai is present today," Rias answered as she got up from the couch and turned to gaze at the arrangements to see if anything was missing or misplaced. "Perfect," she said with complete satisfaction once Koneko finished readjusting the banner.

Rias, in an attempt at trying to make the ORC seem inconspicuous to Ai, had to hold back on decorating too much. Despite this, it was deemed sufficient to be meaningful and not suspiciously excessive. The room was adorned with bouquets of red roses and white carnations setting upon tables and sconces along the walls of the room. A pair of long, white, silk ribbons ran along the upper portion of the walls spanning from the entrance to the opposite end of the room. Branching between those ribbons at the end of the room hung a matching white banner with the words "Welcome to the ORC, Ai Kasai!" strewn across it in bright red lettering. Upon the central table between the two couches in the middle of the room sat numerous platters with various treats and extra space for whatever gifts Ai might bring.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Ise to convince Gasper to come out and meet Ai when she gets here," Rias said before she turned herself towards Akeno. "The sooner we can get him comfortable with being around Ai, the less we'll have to worry about him using Forbidden Balor View around her when in a panic."

* * *

While the girls were preparing to welcome in their new human friend, Issei attempted to talk Gasper into meeting Ai.

"Hey, buddy," Issei said as he poked his head into the back-most room of the club house, which was where Gasper decided to tuck himself away in.

"Issei? D-Did something go wrong?" Gasper inquired.

"No. Not yet at least," Issei responded before fully entering the room and closing the door behind him. "Rias wanted me to come talk to ya about somethin'."

"D-Did I do something wrong?" Gasper said as he shrank in fear, covering the top of his platinum-blonde head with his feminine hands.

Issei knelt down and put one hand on Gasper's shoulder, donning a large smile as if to comfort the Dhampir. "Don't be like that. You didn't do anything wrong," Issei said with a lightened and calmed voice. "We're gonna have a new friend joinin' the ORC for a little while. Rias wanted you to meet her."

This made Gasper's eyes dilate and his face tense up. Struck by silent terror and fearful trembling, Gasper managed to find it in him to respond. "I-Is she going to be mean like Mrs. Xeno-Xenovia and Mrs. K-Koneko, or is she going to be scary like Mrs. Akeno."

"No, she's not gonna be like them. She's more of an Asia-type of girl."

The Dhampir's face seemed to relax as he stopped shaking in fear. "Is that true? Really?"

"Yes. I've known her for a bit. She's really nice, I'm sure you'll like her," Issei responded before standing back up and outstretching his hand to help Gasper up off the ground. "Now, are you willin' to meet her?"

"Alright, I'll try," Gasper responded as he took Issei's hand and pulled himself up. "Are you planning on making her part of your harem too?"

Issei immediately blushed. He quickly began scratching the back of his head with his right hand. "I mean, she's got a great rack and a great personality, but I don't think I'll be doin' that. She's a human and I'm a Devil, that isn't gonna work well."

"Oh, she's a human?" Gasper remarked as he leaned back slightly. "Then why are we letting her join the ORC?"

Issei's blush vanished and his hand returned to his side to rest. "Rias said something about her and her brother being in danger since they had too much contact with us or somethin'. Now they have to stay by our side for a while," Issei responded.

"Brother?" Gasper inquired. "Is he as nice as his sister?"

"Kiiiiindaa..." Issei dragged on as he shrugged slightly. "He's nice, at least from what his sister told me, but can be really harsh to people he doesn't like. But he should be fine with you, he's a shy person as well."

"Really?"

"Well, he's shy around girls," responded Issei. "He can talk to a guy like its nothin', but he loses his shit when a girl talks to him."

"Girls can be scary," added Gasper. "I'm most afraid of Mrs. Xenovia."

"Well… He's terrified of Akeno, so you two have some common ground," Issei said as he threaded his hands together behind his head to serve as a form of comforting support. "I'm afraid of the Prez; so we're a trio if ya think about it. The only guy here who's not afraid of any of the girls is ole' Casanova Kiba."

Issei shifted his eyes towards a blinded window to his left that only allowed a small crevice from which the outside world could seep through. His eyes jolted to a panicked stare upon seeing something in the window that made his skin crawl.

"What the Hell?" Issei whispered with slight quivering in his voice, causing Gasper to turn his attention towards to the window as well. Gasper had a similar, if not more intense, reaction.

There, peering between the slits in the blinds stood two humanoid figures masked by the obstructing blinds, leaving only select portions of their bodies visible to Issei and Gasper. They were of a fair height and stood side-by-side completely motionless. The most notable—and perhaps the most imposing—thing, however, was their eyes. Both had one green eye opposite to each other alongside one eye bearing an unnaturally red iris and solid black sclera with the same alignment as the green eyes. The two stared into the room for what felt like hours to Gasper and Issei before inaudible whispers culminated from the other side of the wall. It sounded as if there was three, maybe even four, individuals behind the wall the window was perched upon—the two looming figures being excluded from this number as no motion that would signify them talking could be seen. There was a silent stand-still as Issei and Gasper choked upon their own breath.

"Ddraig, what the Hell am I looking at?" Issei asked Ddraig, not breaking sight with the two figures for even a blink.

"I'm not certain, but I am picking up an odd mixture of energies, including both Devil and Angel energies. Either the two we see now are abominations, or there are numerous figures beyond this wall. Be careful with what you do in this situation," warned Ddraig, not so afraid as much as he was confused.

The silence was suddenly broken by a piercing cry from within the room. This cry of fear, as expected, came from Gasper in his panic. To the surprise of Issei, this caused the figures to scatter from the window. The whispering ceased immediately and the overwhelming feeling of fear faded. The sound of hurried footsteps barreled through the club house as the girls charged through the door to their friends' sides.

"What happened?" shouted Rias as she rushed over and knelt between Issei and Gasper, who had both unkowingly fell back during the standoff.

"Th-There were t-two people in the window whisp-spering something," Gasper responded, still having trouble pacing his breathing.

"Really… that's it?" Koneko remarked, cutting a disappointed glare at Gasper.

"Are you sure they weren't ordinary humans; adolescent humans do get a kick out of scaring others, you know?" Akeno asked, putting her hand up to her mouth to hide a grin that formed from an attempt at hiding a chuckle.

"No, they weren't human," Issei said as he began to get back up on his feet.

"Any evidence?" Koneko questioned as she headed over to the window that Issei and Gasper had saw the figures and peered through the blinds.

"Ddraig said something about there being Angel and Devil energies coming from them, and that there may have been more than two watching us," Issei replied, now fully standing.

The room fell silent once again. The fact that there were Angel energies included happened to be the most troubling. Rias then remembered that Asia, Kiba, Ai, and Daisuke were still out in the open. Her face turned into an expression of panic.

"Koneko, Xenovia, you two will meet up with Kiba, Asia, and Ai! Me and Akeno will search for Daisuke and bring him here! Issei and Gasper will remain here and stand guard in case they come back!" Rias ordered before making her way to the exit.

* * *

 **Kuoh Park-Fountain, 3:55 PM**

In contrast to the high stress being experienced by the rest of the ORC, Asia and Yuuto were having a swell time with Ai while they waited for Rias to signal the two to bring Ai to the club house. Ai was wearing the same outfit Rias, Sona, and Issei had seen her wearing yesterday alongside a large basket full of treats made by Daisuke hanging from her left arm.

"I'm sorry that this is taking so long, Rias wanted to make sure we had enough time to find you before calling us back," Asia said to Ai as she took a seat next to Ai on the fountain.

"No, no, don't apologize. I had nothing planned for today, so I'm not missing anything. That, and I've been enjoying the time I've had with you two," Ai responded as she sat upon the edge of the fountain.

"This place is kind of special to us, you know?" Yuuto said.

"Pardon me for asking, but how so?" Ai inquired.

Yuuto turned towards Ai. "Well, this place is where we found Issei and made him a part of the club. Ever since, he's been a big help," he answered while walking over to take a seat beside Ai as well.

"That's splendid. I kind of have ties here as well," Ai said as she pulled a locket out of one of the pockets of the black vest she wore. Within the locket lied a photo of two children holding each other in a hug while smiling at the camera: one boy and one girl of roughly 10 years of age. "My youngest siblings, Ren—the boy on the left—and Ran—the girl on the right—play around this fountain often. You've probably seen them playing tag with each other here at one point."

"They are so adorable," Asia remarked as she gazed at the photo of the two.

* * *

The girl bore black hair that was, for the most part, short with one long lock on each side of her head that covered her ears and reached down to her midsection. Her eyes were much like Daisuke's intense amber eyes, only more pronounced and circular. She was wearing a two-toned dress that had the colors separated horizontally along where her midsection would begin. The upper half was a frilly white section bearing no sleeves with the bottom section being a black section laced in a golden "x" pattern leading down the front of the section with a long, flowing dress. She also wore black sandals to match her outfit.

The boy also bore black hair, but remained short entirely. It, at its longest, would reach down to his chin and was somewhat wild as compared to Daisuke's more sleek and refined hairstyle. His eyes were much like Ai's gentle blue eyes; them only being a slight amount sharper than the girl's. He wore mainly black and white attire much like Ai; this time, it took the form of a black, unbuttoned tuxedo vest over a white button-up shirt. Around his neck lied a bright blue necktie alongside a left breast pocket lined with the same color. He wore gray pants that harbored black rims and seemed somewhat worn at the knees. To wrap the outfit up, he wore black dress shoes similarly to Daisuke.

Differences aside, the two also seemed to have the same skin tone that lied somewhere between Daisuke's pale complexion and Ai's more tanned complexion. They were both slim and bore somewhat sharp facial features. Overall, the two looked as if they were a mixture of Ai and Daisuke.

* * *

"They are named after flowers; Ren was named after the lotus and Ran was named after the orchid. Rather fitting names for twins, don't you think?" Ai asked as she turned her eyes to Kiba.

"Certainly," Yuuto replied. "When was this photo taken?"

"A couple of months ago. Daisuke was planning on introducing them to his friends today. I hope the meetings we both have don't cut into that time too much," Ai stated before closing her locket and standing back up.

"Maybe we can meet them sometime soon as well," Asia remarked as she, also, stood up from the fountain.

"That would be lovely," Ai replied.

During this pleasant conversation, Yuuto's phone vibrated, signaling to him that the preparations were finished. He opened his phone to read the message he was to get from Rias. What he had read made his cheerful expression sink for a brief moment.

"Kiba, get Ai here ASAP. I'll explain when I get back to the club house. I'm going with Akeno to retrieve Daisuke while Koneko and Xenovia rendezvous with you three on your way back. Sent by: Rias Gremory at 4:03 PM," the message read.

After reading through the full message, Yuuto put on a cheery facade as to not make Asia and Ai worry. He returned his phone to his pocket. "They're ready, but Rias wants us to be there as quick as we can."

"Splendid. Pardon me for asking, but why the hurry?" Ai responded.

"Rias said something about ice cream. So that's probably why," Yuuto lied, trying to refrain from sparking the concern of Asia and, mainly, Ai.

"That sounds like something we should hurry up for. Don't want it to melt before we get there," Ai said, smiling as the three began making their way to the club house.

* * *

 **Streets of Kuoh, 4:10 PM**

Daisuke and his youngest siblings, Ren and Ran, went to meet up with Motohama and Matsuda, unaware of the fact that danger may be rearing its head.

"Hey Dai, do you know if Motohama and Matsuda have younger brothers or sisters too?" asked Ren Kasai as he ran circles around Daisuke, blue eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought of meeting friends of his older brother. He was donning attire from his school, which was similar in style to Kuoh Academy's male student attire in all but the color: a dark blue hue. "If they do, do you think they can come over to our house some time?"

"I've never thought of that possibility. Maybe you two can ask them when we meet," Daisuke responded, who was wearing his Kuoh Academy attire even after classes were over.

"I don't think we should be letting other people into our house. They might steal something," Ran remarked with a cold and inexpressive tone of voice as she clung closely to Daisuke, nervously looking around in every direction. Despite her fear, she bore an unfazed and cutting glare with her amber colored eyes that could cause a grown man to freeze up for a brief moment. She wore attire from her school, which was essentially the same as Ren's save for the fact that the color of the attire was a bright red instead of a dark blue.

"You have to stop seeing only the worst in people before you even get to know them," Daisuke replied with a gentle tone of voice while wrapping an arm around Ran to comfort her.

"But didn't you hate your friends for being perverts before you met them?" Ran rebutted.

"That… Well… I..." Daisuke stumbled on his words.

"You know Daisuke is only mean to perverts because he's jealous that they can talk to girls without screeching like one of those frogs I catch at the pond by the school," Ren blurted as he positioned himself beside Ran.

Ren looked up at his brother's face, which was currently expressing distress. To Ren, it looked rather funny, like how someone looks after being startled by a sudden movement.

"Don't talk about that out loud, Ren. You know Dai hates it when we talk about that when we walk around Kuoh," Ran said with a mildly hostile growl in her voice as she tugged on Ren's shirt.

"Sorry Dai," Ren said as his eyes sank to the ground.

"It is fine. No one was around to hear it, so there was no harm done whatsoever. Just be a little more careful in your choice of words next time," Daisuke responded as his expression returned to a gentle smile.

Daisuke couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of danger coming from behind him. He peered over his shoulder and saw something that froze him to the core. Standing there at the end of the street was Akeno, who had Daisuke in her sights, donning a grin that caused Daisuke's skin to crawl.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! What the Hell is she doing here at this time of day? Doesn't she have a meeting with the ORC or something along those lines?" Daisuke thought to himself as panic began to set in.

* * *

"I know I should call for Rias, but I just want to tease him for a little while. Aw, but we're kind of in a hurry," Akeno thought as her grin vanished. She then noticed two children, one of which clung to him with the other standing at the side of the former. "Even if we weren't in a hurry, I can't really do anything to get him hot and bothered with those children here. Speaking of which, who are they?"

Akeno discontinued her thought and decided to call out for Rias, seeing as she couldn't push any of Daisuke's buttons this time.

"Hey, President, over here!" Akeno shouted.

Rias, who was only about six houses away, quickened her pace towards Akeno. She came into view of Daisuke, who felt a wave of relief wash over him. He knew that Akeno would not try anything drastic with Rias around. Despite this, Daisuke had another problem—what did they want from him and would he be required to respond?

The two girls made their way towards Daisuke as his siblings turned to see what their older brother had turned his attention to. Ran clung to Daisuke even tighter while Ren gawked at Rias's vivid red hair.

* * *

"Are those friends of yours Dai?" Ran inquired. "I don't remember you telling us about two girls."

"Is that girl's hair color her actual hair color, or did she use that hair paint stuff that some of the girls here wear?" Ren asked as he pointed at Rias.

I took the two Devils little time to make it to Daisuke. The two had to put on a positive facade as to not invoke suspicion or fear.

"Hello Daisuke. I apologize for interrupting your day on such short notice, but me and the rest of the ORC would like to have you at the club house for Ai's initiation," Rias said.

"Initiation? Is Ai actually joining this club? Why didn't she tell me anything about it?" thought Daisuke, whose face was already a faint shade of red from having been confronted by Akeno and Rias.

"You guys know Ai?" Ren asked the two, blue eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

"His eyes are just like Ai's. That is so adorable," Rias thought.

"Yes, we know her a fair amount. By the way, who are you two?" Akeno replied, donning a friendly smile towards the two.

"I am Ren and she is Ran. We are twins. Dai is our older brother and Ai is our older sister," Ren explained before fixating himself back on Rias's hair. He pointed to the red-head. "Also, do you use hair paint? I've never seen a girl with hair this red."

This question surprised Rias and made Akeno chuckle a little.

"I'm surprised no one has asked you that yet, President," remarked Akeno before turning her attention back to Ren. "That is her natural hair color, no dyes or anything to it. By the way, she is Rias Gremory and I am Akeno Himejima," she said before turning her attention to the timid Ran clinging to Daisuke with her face buried into his leg. "You don't have to be afraid. Your brother and I are friends."

Ran turned to face Akeno, revealing a piercing amber gaze. Her gaze caused Akeno some surprise, but not enough to cause her to show any visible signs.

"She's got Daisuke's amber eyes too. Seems they look good on both gender. Now I can't help but think of what Issei would look like with amber eyes. If that were the case, I probably wouldn't be able to control myself around him." Akeno thought before being snapped back into reality by some cutting words made by the little girl.

"That's not what Dai's latest night terror said... I don't like you, disgusting succubus," remarked Ran with a cold expression and tone of voice rivaling that of Koneko's.

This statement stirred surprise in Akeno while making Rias chuckle.

"She's got you there," Rias remarked.

Daisuke stood completely still and silent, waiting for this confrontation to be over and hoping that he wouldn't be required to speak. Which was exactly when Akeno posed a question to Daisuke.

"She's a lot like you, you know?" Akeno asked.

Daisuke, instead of conceding, misinterpreted this as an insult. This caused anger to build within him, but not enough to fully overwhelm his nervousness. It was, however, enough to make him utter a single sentence to his greatest fear: Akeno Himejima.

"Be mindful of what you say about them," Daisuke said with an underlying air of aggression, donning a brief cutting glare that was unhindered in effectiveness even with a reddened face.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" Akeno responded with a partially shocked expression. The fact that Daisuke manage to not only speak a full sentence around her, but speak with some form of dominance or hostility was surprising to her. "Struck a nerve there. Not entirely sure how, but I did," Akeno thought before fixating on his narrowed eyes. "Ooo. That look is intense; I like it. I see where the little one learned her death stare from."

Rias, trying to mask her anxiety regarding the situation at hand with the odd figures and the possibility of being watched, wanted to wrap up the situation as quickly as she could. "So, should we get going then?"

Daisuke nodded in agreement. Before he could begin moving rigidly towards the two, Ran clung to him as Ren once again circled his two siblings.

"Can we come, Dai?" Ren asked as he ran in circles.

"Sure. Can't leave you two in a place you have no knowledge of how to navigate, now can I?" Daisuke answered.

"YAAAY!" shouted the child.

"Sorry that I'm going to be late, mates. I hope you two understand." Daisuke thought, lamenting the fact that he was unable to introduce his younger siblings to Motohama and Matsuda as he initially set out to do.

The two Devils and the three siblings walked off towards the club house. Ren hummed along the way as Ran kept a close eye on Akeno. Daisuke, still experiencing anxiety from being around Rias and Akeno, walked rigidly alongside them, keeping a fair distance.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 4:25 PM**

Both groups successfully made their way back. In addition, Sona's group responded to a call from Rias to come to the club house to have Daisuke join the Student Council and to discuss what Issei and Gasper had witnessed. The group dispatched to retrieve Ai, having returned first, sat in the club house waiting for Rias, Akeno, and Daisuke while enjoying the treats Ai brought for them.

"So, Daisuke made these?" Issei asked as he bit into a cookie.

"He made most of them. I tried to bring my own, but had to resort to buying food from the market since I am not that good at cooking," Ai responded, delighted by the fact that her new friends enjoyed Daisuke's gifts.

"Tell him he needs to start a restaurant or somethin'. This stuff's good," Issei remarked as he enthusiastically ate the cookie.

This earned Issei a heart-warming smile that seemed joyful for even Ai's standards. "I'll be sure to tell him that. Maybe hearing praise for his talents from someone outside his family will boost his confidence."

Sona, despite having a more composed and professional behavior than most, couldn't help but eat a few deviled eggs. The taste far surpassed her expectations, expecting it to be average due to it being made by a human. Her eyes gleamed in delight as she ate the egg. "Would it be at all possible to get your brother to sample some of my cooking and give me some criticism? He seems to be knowledgeable when it comes to culinary arts," she requested after she recomposed herself.

"I can see if he has the time to critique. Don't let his modesty towards his cooking fool you; he may say that his food is nothing special, but he is the second best cook I know," Ai responded, directing her usual jovial smile towards Sona. "By the way, I don't think you've formally met Daisuke."

"That is correct. The most interaction I've had with him was just a single glance at him hunched over on a couch," Sona remarked before subconsciously eating another egg.

"I never got around to saying this, but I would like to apologize for the unpleasant first impression he had. That day was not his finest day. But I know that he will fit in with you guys really well," Ai said before taking a bite out of a sandwich Daisuke made for her.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but he's good in my books if he can make food this good," Genshirou stated as he vigorously ate some lasagna.

"Who's number one then?" Koneko asked Ai.

Silence fell upon the room as all eyes fixated on Ai, waiting to hear her response. Some of the Devils even stopped their chewing just to hear what she had to say.

"I don't think I should talk about him," Ai answered.

"No, it is fine. Go ahead," Tsubaki insisted.

"No, I shouldn't. He doesn't like being brought up in a conversation. I'm sorry," Ai responded.

"I'm assuming asking him for assistance is out of the question then?" Sona asked, adjusting her glasses while speaking.

"I'm afraid so, but I know that Daisuke will suffice," Ai said before biting into her sandwich once more.

"I'm sorry if this sounds a little rude, but this has kinda been buggin' me," Issei began, drawing the eyes of the entire room. "You always praise your brother, but ya never really talk about yourself. After the run-in we had yesterday, I realized there is more to you than what ya let us see. I know you think highly of him and all, but I want to know what ya think of yourself."

"I appreciate you asking, but I'm really nothing special," Ai responded.

"That is not true. You're more than just a back-up dancer; I know it, and I know you know it too," Issei refuted with quiet zeal.

Koneko promptly delivered a slap to the back of Issei's head. "Don't ask people about personal stuff, idiot," Koneko snapped.

"No, no. It's fine, he has a point. I do come off as a personal cheerleader more than anything," Ai conceded, smile still remaining. "I don't mind being seen as such, though. I just want to make others happy."

* * *

The doors behind them opened to reveal Rias, Akeno, and Daisuke alongside the two children, Ren and Ran, who clung to and circled Daisuke. All eyes turned their attention to the five with Sona's group mostly concerned with getting a visual on the newest Student Council member with most of Rias's group, having already met Daisuke, turning their attention to the young ones.

"Wow, his eyes are beautiful," Reya whispered.

"Eh, he's probably using contact lenses," Tsubasa whispered to Reya, skeptical about the legitimacy of the hue.

"If I recall correctly, people can have amber eyes: albeit rarely," Momo quietly remarked.

"So that's the guy who made this food? Gonna have to thank him later," Genshirou thought.

"I thought he'd be a little taller considering how tall Ai is," Ruruko thought.

Once the five reached the central region of the room, Daisuke and the twins took a seat beside Ai while Akeno and Rias took a seat on the couch across from them. Tsubaki and Sona decided to follow suit and also sat on the couch with both Queens on the outside and the Kings on the inside.

"So, this is the supposed new member of the council?" Sona began while looking towards Rias.

"Yes, that is correct," Rias responded before taking a sip of tea that she had prepared for this event.

Sona analyzed the human's appearance and style of clothing before making a swift judgement. "He does look the part," she spoke softly before clearing her throat. "Rias suggested that I let you join the Student Council by recommendation. Since I put trust in her opinions, I am willing to accept you into our group. To get introductions out of the way, my name is Shitori Souna. I am the president of the council and will be the one you will be answering the most to. The girl beside me is Shinra Tsubaki, the vice-president of the council. If I have tasks for you to complete, but am currently dealing with another task, she will serve in my stead. Until you get attain a grasp on how things work within the council, Saji Genshirou, Kusaka Reya, Nimura Ruruko, Hanakai Momo, Yura Tsubasa, and Meguri Tomoe will be there to guide you," she continued while pointing at Genshirou, then at Reya, Ruruko, Momo, Tsubasa, then Tomoe. "Feel free to get acquainted with them during this time."

A spike of fear culminated within Daisuke, causing his body to tense up. "Of course most of the council are ladies. I can't catch a break. I just started to get slightly accustomed to speaking around some of the ORC ladies and now I'm being thrown into another group," Daisuke thought, cursing his luck that any other man would be envious of.

"As for you, Ai..." Rias began. "We have decided to let you join the ORC. Now, we aren't going to be as strict as the Student Council is, but we expect you to play your part in this club. Alright?"

"Certainly," Ai responded.

"I know you've met the rest of the ORC, but I feel that I should still go over a general introduction in case you forgot. Akeno Himejima is the vice-president of the ORC and will serve as my second in command. Yuuto Kiba, Koneko Toujou, Xenovia Quarta, Asia Argento, Issei Hyoudou, and Gasper Vladi will serve as your guides and equals," Rias said while pointing at Yuuto, then at Koneko, Xenovia, Asia, Issei, then Gasper.

Ai looked towards Gasper, who had been absent from their first meeting. "So that's Gasper. I'm sorry, I thought you'd be a guy due to the name. It sounds rather masculine," she remarked.

"Actually, he is a guy. He just likes wearing the female Kuoh Academy uniform," Rias explained.

"Oh, I see. Well, it looks great on you," Ai said as she shot a smile towards Gasper.

"Thank you, Miss Ai," Gasper said, bearing a large smile.

"I'm surprised no one has brought up the kids Daisuke has with him," Akeno stated, derailing the entire conversation while bringing everyone's attention to the two children. "Aren't you going to tell the rest about them— _or tell us who the lucky girl is, at least?_ " Akeno said, attempting to fluster Daisuke.

"Actually, they are our younger siblings. Ren and Ran." Ai rebutted.

"I know. I was just playing around a little." Akeno said with her eyes dancing over to get a look at how Daisuke was reacting.

His face was a bright red which he tried to hide by lowering his head and eating a cookie. He was rigid in his movements, signaling to Akeno that she got to him yet again. She let out a little giggle in response.

"I've read that people who laugh at others' suffering have their own heavy troubles that they hide. Is that why you're so mean to Dai?" Ran prodded coldly.

The little girl's words caused Akeno great discomfort, causing her to blush before keeping quiet. The whole room, as well, went silent.

"Did that little girl just get philosophical?" Genshirou questioned.

"Ran is a very smart girl. She reads a lot of big books," Ren remarked.

"That explains that," Koneko stated.

"What about you, little guy?" Tsubasa asked Ren.

"I like animals. My mom also says I'm ad-vent-ur-ous or something," Ren responded.

"That's great. You thinking about being a scientist? They go on adventures and study animals," Tomoe asked.

"I've been thinking about it. Ran says I should be a zoologist," Ren replied.

"He's really good at handling and identifying animals. He's been around them all of his life," Ran added.

"That's great. Just stay in school and do your work, then you'll be able to work with as many animals as you want," Tomoe encouraged.

"Now that we have all of the introductions out of the way, you four can head back home. We were planning on having a bit of a celebration for the two of you, but something came up that we need to tend to. We'll compensate for this at a later date," Rias explained before shooting a smile towards the two eldest siblings. "We'll being seeing you tomorrow."

The four Kasais made their leave, Ran and Ren still sticking with Daisuke in order to meet with his friends. Ai tagged along as she had nothing else to do today. In short time, the ORC and Student Council were left alone in the club house.

* * *

"We need to talk, Sona," Rias said with a dire tone of voice.

* * *

 ** _Surprise, I'm not dead! Sorry for leaving this story on halt for so long. Various factors prevented me from actually working on the story_**

 ** _I can't promise that I'll have a consistent schedule for a while, but I'll try what I can to not make each chapter a month-long wait._**

 _ **I'm going to see if I can make chapters a little longer from here on out, being at least 5000 words instead of 4000. I might even go higher depending on how things go.**_

 _ **I apologize if this chapter is lackluster even among my standards considering how long the wait was.**_


	8. Volume 1:Life 7

**_**Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is**_** ** _ **the**_** ** _ **very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.**_**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _ **There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.**_**

 ** _ **To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.**_**

 ** _ **I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.**_**

* * *

 _ **Unknown Forces? A Much Needed Discussion.**_

After the initiation of both Daisuke and Ai into their respective groups, the ORC and the Student Council held a meeting within the council's headquarters instead of the club house. They discussed the occurrence they had with the unknown figures. Meanwhile, Ai and Daisuke wrapped up their meeting with Motohama and Matsuda and headed home having successfully introduced them to Ren and Ran.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Student Council Conference Room, 5:30 PM**

The groups arrived in a pristine and office-like room bearing cubicle-like structures for each council member along with a few empty ones in accommodation for future expansion of their council. Along the middle of the room lied a long rectangular table surrounded by numerous chairs. The Devils promptly took a seat at the rectangular table.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Rias asked as she looked to the sides, getting a head count on both groups. She began a roll call to ensure there wasn't a person missing aside from Issei and Genshirou; those two were tasked with keeping a watchful eye over the Kasai siblings by Rias and, with reluctance, Sona. There were no absentees aside from the aforementioned Pawns, allowing the discussion to begin unhindered. "Akeno, deploy your barrier."

"Certainly, President," responded Akeno before a magic circle appeared in her hand. It dissipated shortly after being summoned, completing the spell.

"Sona, we're going to need Tsubaki to do the same," Rias stated.

"Very well then. Your urgency in the matter must mean that this is dire," Sona responded before signaling to Tsubaki to raise her own barrier.

Tsubaki responded with a silent nod. A magic circle appeared in the Devil's hand and, much like Akeno's, dissipated after a brief period.

The building, now double-layered in protective magic, allowed Rias to let out a relieved sigh. "Here's to hoping something didn't make its way in here beforehand," she thought.

"So, what has got you in such a tense condition, Rias? Did you hear back from the Satans?" Sona inquired as she held the left frame of her glasses.

"No, that is not the case. What is troubling me now is more problematic than the dead silence," Rias said, her face a steely glare.

Sona raised her eyebrows. "Go on."

"Just a few hours ago, Ise and Gasper spotted two humanoid figures peering through the blinds of the club house's back room window. Ise said that Ddraig spoke to him, saying that whatever lied beyond that window bore traces of Devil and Angel energies. He also told him that there may be more than two lurking around," Rias explained, drawing the surprise of the entire council.

"So that's why she called us back so abruptly," Yuuto thought, his usually pleasant face now stricken with strain.

"That doesn't make sense. An Angel working alongside a Devil? Wouldn't that cause the Angel to become a Fallen One right off the bat?" Sona inquired with an unblinking stare.

"It should; but Ddraig specifically said Angel. If it were a Fallen One, he would've stated otherwise," Rias refuted.

"Peculiar..." Sona began while bearing a deathly serious, yet cold expression. "Vladi, could you describe what you saw? We may be able to identify what the figures were by specialized features."

Gasper struggled to speak having to visualize the terrifying sight. He was completely silent and shivering.

"I know what you saw was scary, but we can't help solve this problem if you don't tell us what you saw," Momo said in an attempt to encourage Gasper.

"Th-There were two pairs of eyes. B-Both had one red and b-black eye with one gr-green eye. Th-Then came the wh-whispering." Gasper stuttered, barely toughing through his fear.

"Black and red eye..." Sona repeated before she stood up and paced back in forth. "Two humanoids with one each..." she continued before materializing a book titled "Monsters, Demons and Other Supernatural Beings" and flipping through the pages. "No, it can't be that… or them. Not seeing anything in this book about it. No Devil or Angel alive has that dynamic. Some of these Devils have only red eyes, but no green eyes or ties to an Angel; I'm not seeing anything about a red-eyed Angel either."

"So we're dealing with undocumented creatures?" Xenovia inquired, her face just as stern as Rias's.

"It seems so. I'll look through this tome more thoroughly afterwards. For now, we need to think of a plan of action," Sona answered before the book disappeared in a flicker of blue light.

"For starters, we need to better secure our training grounds. We need as little interruptions as possible. On top of that, the two Kasais are going to have to stick close to us," Rias stated, earning a sharp glare from Sona.

"And just how are we going to keep them from finding out we're Devils? We can't mind-wipe them every second. Doing so will exhaust us quicker than the training will," Sona rebutted.

"Well, we can have Gasper use his Forbidden Balor View to hold them in place. It provides good training for him while also giving us time to train without having to worry as much," Rias suggested.

Sona rested her chin between her index finger and thumb. She paced slightly as she considered the idea.

"That can work; but we need an alternative," Sona began as she directed her body back towards Rias. "I suggest we have one member stand watch over them while swapping both group and individual daily. For example: day one has Argento supervise the two while day two has Yura keep an eye on them. It will not only improve our adaptability, but also give each person a break day. Then we cycle it around once we go through everyone."

This idea turned some gears in Akeno's mind. "Oh my, oh my. Finally, a chance to see how flustered I can make him without Rias to ruin the fun. _He'll be a nervous wreck after I'm done,_ " Akeno thought in reference to Daisuke, this time trying not to show any apparent excitement to not hint at her intentions.

"Sounds like a good idea," Rias agreed as she ran both her hands through her crimson hair and sighed a breath of relief.

"Very well then, we'll bring them to the mountains with us when we go to begin training," Sona declared "Beforehand, it would be wise to decide the pattern we will be using until the summit has concluded."

"Maybe we should go in alphabetical order for each group?" Tsubasa suggested.

"Alphabetical order, huh? That means I may get the first day. Delightful," Akeno thought, still holding a calm facade.

"If that's the case, which group will be going first?" Sona asked.

"I say we flip a coin," Yuuto suggested as he pulled a metal coin out from his pocket. "Heads for the ORC, tails for the Student Council. Sound good to you?"

"Proceed," Sona urged.

"A test of luck. Alright," Rias agreed.

* * *

Yuuto flipped the coin; catching it in midair and placing it on his hand afterwards.

"I… may need to use a different coin. This one is too weathered to tell," Yuuto said as he held up the coin, which was weathered beyond recognition.

"Way to tease a girl, Lady Luck." Akeno thought, slightly irritated.

"I have one," Koneko said as she, too, pulled out a coin; this one shined like it was freshly minted. She handed it to Yuuto. "You better give it back."

"Certainly," Yuuto said as he flipped the shining coin. This time there would surely be some form of result.

The coin, instead, landed on its edge and stayed there. Despite the odds, fortune managed to find a way to further waste their time.

"That would be probabilistically amazing if the fates of two lives weren't to be decided by this trivial game," Tsubaki said with an annoyed sigh.

"OK, now this is just unneeded tension," Akeno thought as she formed a slight frown.

"Let me try again," Yuuto said as he retrieved the coin before flipping it a third time. Third time's the charm, as they say.

This time, the coin rolled off the table, onto the floor, and into a floor vent. The charm was a myth.

A silence fell upon the group as everyone looked at the vent with disappointment and a blank stare. Koneko gave a piercing glare to Yuuto. "You're never flipping the coin again."

"Hold on," Tsubasa said as she opened up the vent to retrieve the coin. She didn't want to have to sit through any more random shenanigans that would occur from flipping the coin once more, so she bit the bullet and rummaged through the dusty vent. To her, it wasn't a big deal as she was always a little more hands-on than the rest of the council. "It's heads," She said as she pulled the coin from the vent and returned it to Koneko.

* * *

"That would mean that... Akeno goes first," Asia said, raising her hand to her mouth before looking towards Rias. Her eyes portrayed great concern.

"Is there a problem with that?" Sona asked.

"Actually, it kind of is a problem. You see, Daisuke is terrified of Akeno," Asia responded.

"The way I see it, it is a small price for him to pay for his protection. I'm certain he's better off in Akeno's hands than with whatever Issei and Gasper encountered," Xenovia stated.

"You sure about that?" Tsubasa asked while raising a brow. "Being at Akeno's mercy can be pretty bad too,"

"We are dealing with unidentified creatures, Yura," Sona remarked as she adjusted her glasses. "We have no knowledge of their behavior, thus leading to the possibility that the creatures are beyond just standard malevolence. I also have a feeling that they bear some ties to the Ogres and the Anzû we came across the other day. If we were to capture them, we could interrogate them. He should be fine with Himejima for the first day at least; that is, unless one of you want to take her place and possibly have a run in with those beings," Sona explained before turning to look at Rias. "What do you think Rias?"

Rias sat in silence, pondering her choices. She looked down upon the table, her hair falling to the sides of her face. "I honestly don't think we should send Akeno to watch them. Ai did state that she would protect him if needed; even then, I'm not sure if that will save him," she answered after raising her gaze from the table.

"Well, we'll need someone with barrier spells to capture the beings if they do show up, and we need Sona's entire Peerage to be present in order to get the most out of our training for today seeing as we have already lost a large chunk of our time," Akeno refuted, trying to further convince Rias to go along.

"She makes a fair point," Momo agreed.

"Yes, indeed," Sona agreed.

"It's true… I'm sorry Daisuke, but this is for your and Ai's own good," Rias thought. "Very well then, Akeno takes day one," she said before turning to Akeno. "I know you won't be able to help yourself, but try not to go overboard."

"It is settled then," Sona began. "Our training will begin at 6:00. It should give both sides enough time to gather up both of the siblings and wrap up anything currently underway."

"We may need to extend that by about 30 minutes in case either side has some problems. But it would still be recommended to arrive to the training grounds as close to 6:00 as possible," Rias added.

* * *

The ORC returned to their club house via magic portals to prepare for today's training upon the meeting's conclusion.

Once they had arrived back at the club house, Xenovia had an idea strike her mind. "Do you think that the two siblings have something to do with this?" she asked Rias, who gave a shocked expression before turning to Xenovia.

"What do you mean by that?" Rias asked.

"What I'm meaning is that everything got ominous and uneasy not long after they made their appearance," Xenovia began. "The absence of Stray Devil and Fallen Angel reports, the Devil-Angel duo, the Anzû and the Ogres, we don't even know much about them concerning their origins and previous accomplices."

"Now that you mention it, that does seem a little suspicious. They may have human energies, but who's to say they aren't masking their actual energy." Yuuto remarked.

"Makes sense," Koneko added with a wrapped lollypop in her hand. She opened it and promptly began eating it.

"Even if that is the case, we need to play along in case they do know something. If Xenovia is correct, then we are already at an advantage. We already see through their ploy while they are none the wiser, giving us the chance for the initiative whenever needed," Akeno stated.

"I'm not sure. I want to believe that they are just humans, but they seem so unnatural to me and I don't know why," Rias said as she sat herself down on a chair.

"Well, we have Issei and Genshirou keeping an eye on them; we can ask them if they witness anything abnormal. I, honestly, don't think they are tied to whatever is going on," Asia refuted.

Rias pondered in the chair for a few minutes. She understood and even began to believe the possibility, but something in her kept telling her to trust them. "I'll go with Asia's notion. If they happen to exhibit abnormal behaviors when they're not around us, we'll know something is amiss."

* * *

 **Streets of Kuoh, 5:50 PM**

Issei and Genshirou were perched atop a building a couple of streets across from the Kasai residence. The two were tasked with keeping watch over them in case they were attacked. The utter silence and overall uneventfulness of the task weathered away at their patience.

"Hey, Hyoudou, have you got with any of those girls yet?" Genshirou asked.

"Hey, hold on, what're ya trynna pull?" Issei responded with a voice louder than his usual.

"Nothing really," Genshirou answered before sighing. "Just bored and wanted to pass some time."

Issei slouched over before letting out a sigh as well. "I agree with ya on that. Nothing has happened yet, but I bet the moment we turn our back is the moment when they'll be in danger. That aside, I haven't hooked up with any of 'em."

"Is that so? I've been told that Akeno and Rias practically fight over you."

"Yeah, but Akeno's been focusin' a lot on Daisuke instead of me as of lately," Issei said with a mixed expression: a sullen gaze and a smile.

"You think she might have eyes for him? Human-Devil relationships are possible, you know?"

"It's a possibility; but I think she just loves the reactions she gets outta him. You shoulda seen what happened when she hugged him," Issei said, replacing his indecisive expression with a more indifferent one.

"What happened?" Genshirou inquired as his brows raised.

"Well, he let out a loud and sharp screech and did not stop until she let him go. Sounded like one of those screaming frogs," answered Issei, holding back a chuckle.

This caused Genshirou to let out a brief laugh that was quickly hushed by Issei. "So, why he was so quiet earlier was because Himejima was there? Am I correct?"

"Actually, there's a bit more to it," Issei stated, motioning Genshirou to lean in as if he was about to tell some kind of secret. "You see, he's kinda afraid of girls. He has a lot of trouble talkin' to 'em. Somethin' about a girl in his past. Don't tell anyone I told you this; better yet, don't tell anyone at all. They'll figure it out later. I just thought I needed to tell ya because you and him are the only guys in the council. You gotta look out for ya boy because I'm probably not gonna be able to," he whispered.

"So he's a gynophobe?" Genshirou asked while looking down at the Kasai residence. "Ironic considering his popularity with the female student body in Kuoh Academy. No wonder Himejima targets him; he is afraid of her base existence."

"No idea what that word means," Issei responded with jovial ignorance before he sat down on the roof.

"It means he's irrationally afraid of women in general."

"Nah, I don't think it's that then. He seems perfectly fine being around his sisters. It's girls he doesn't know that he seems to lose his shit with."

"Yeah, you're right," Genshirou said as he, too, sat down. "I mean, he didn't immediately run off when put in a room with more than ten girls either. Must be some strain of social anxiety then."

Issei then stood up suddenly, staring to the left with an intense glare. The sounds of whispers similar to the ones he and Gasper heard before traveled their way to the rooftop he and Genshirou were on.

"What's the problem?" Genshirou whispered as he quietly stood up.

"That's them. Those whispers sound exactly like 'em. Come on," Issei whispered as he sprouted his wings and flew quietly over three buildings before landing on the sidewalk by an alleyway close to the Kasai residence. Genshirou promptly followed him and the two sidled along the wall towards the voices, trying to tune in to what was being said. Issei briefly peeked his head around the corner.

The alleyway was rather short and narrow, leading to a dead-end at the end. At the end of the alleyway stood five figures in the middle of a conversation.

* * *

"Ya think they be tailin' us?" asked a man a little above the height of Daisuke with an Irish accent draped in black robes typical of shifty individuals. He wore what seemed like golden elbow-length gauntlets on his arms. While the robes masked his body, it was obvious he was taking a defensive stance as evidenced by his bent knees forcing the fabric outwards.

"They didn't seem to be in a hurry to follow," said a buxom woman slightly shorter than the man with a soft voice and the same robes as the man. She bore an electric-blue, coral-like trident in her right hand.

"Just 'cause they were flat on their arses doesn't mean they'll twiddle their thumbs and let us feckin' leg it." the man said as he constantly looked towards the mouth of the alleyway and the rooftops above, just barely missing Issei as the Devil pulled his head back behind cover.

"Fufufu. There hasn't been any sign of them nor any indication that we are being followed. You're just paranoid, silly." said a woman, who was about as tall as Asia, with a jovial timbre. She wielded a black twin scythe with silver edges in her right hand that seemed much too big for her.

"Maybe you're right; It's just that the brown-haired rawny was the guy who has that Red Death Dragon of Multiplication in him. Kinda worried about that," the man said as his posture straightened out a fair amount.

"To be fair, he hasn't attained a full grasp on the Dragon's power yet," said a woman bearing a red and black right eye alongside the robes. She seemed to wear a white mask covering everything but her green eye and the area around her monstrous eye.

"If we had to, we could easily take him down so long as we don't give him time to power-up," said another woman beside the previous, seeming to pick up where the other left off. She also had a red and black eye, this time being on the left, and robes alongside the same type of mask as the other woman.

"We'd still have a chance even then, though," the first followed.

"But we'd have to use your flesh to shield us," the second added.

"I wonder how the others are faring. Weren't they supposed to be keeping an eye on the siblings?" the soft-voiced woman asked as she looked towards the mouth of the alleyway.

"I do believe so," the unnatural right-eyed women said.

"They got the easy job," the other one followed.

"That aside, this job isn't so bad," the first added.

"If you don't count the fact that we barely avoided a bloody confrontation," the second said, finishing their thoughts like clockwork.

"Can we even talk about how you two mucked that up?" the man asked, sounding slightly angered.

"We thought that we could peer in without being seen." the red and black right-eyed woman said.

"Had we known that they would scream for help, we wouldn't have looked in," the second finished.

"Yes, do calm down. Everyone makes mistakes every now and then. You have had quite a track record with them, you know?" the soft-voiced woman said.

"Feck off with that. I only punched the maggot cause he was rearing to slap your arse," the man retorted. "Feckin' town's full 'o horny bastards."

Those unnatural eyes signaled to Issei that the figures before them were the same ones he and Gasper had encountered earlier today. The fear he had experienced when those orbs met his quickly turned to excitement as he began planning out, in his mind, how everything was going to go down.

"That's it, that is definitely them. They don't know we're here, so we may be able to catch them here and now. Time for..." Issei thought, peering back around the corner, before being interrupted by another voice from within the group of robed figures.

"I would not recommend you try, kind," erupted a loud and deep Germanic voice as a well-built man towering over the rest of the group walked into view wearing the same robes. He wielded a massive, two-handed mace in each hand like they were mere arming swords. The lack of light in the area mad it hard to make out details, but they were both bigger than Issei's whole body and then some.

"Wait, did he… no..." Issei thought.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, kind. The one with Der Rot Drachen Kaiser—The Red Dragon Emperor—housed within him," the man spoke once more.

"He's a fuckin' psychic?" Issei thought before he and Genshirou turned the corner in preparation to face off against them.

"Feckin' knew it!" the man with an Irish accent chimed in as he reassumed his defensive posture.

* * *

Issei and Genshirou prepared for a fight by quickly summoning forth both of their Sacred Gears. There was a standstill that seemed to last forever that, in actuality, lasted a few minutes. One side prepared for a battle while the other stood their ground as if no threat was posed to them; they hadn't even raised their arms in defense save for the Irish voiced man. Then came the booming voice of the Germanic man.

"We're not here to fight, kinder: just remember that. Run back to dein Könige—your Kings—and forget facing off against us; you won't win with just two," said the large man before signaling to the soft-voiced woman with the trident.

Suddenly, water enveloped the robed group. It shaped itself into a pillar before refining itself into a massive serpentine Dragon that began to carry them away into the sky.

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Genshirou as he attempted to snare the figures in his Absorption Line: a bracer Sacred Gear in the shape of a black, chameleon-like reptile bearing bulbous, violet eyes latched onto Genshirou's hand whose mouth opened to shoot out glowing blue threads capable of draining enemies of their power. He was about to wrap the line around the red and black-eyed women when the unthinkable happened.

"Boost!"

From the arms of Genshirou's targets came lines that looked exactly like his Absorption Line. The strands wrapped around his arm and tightened, forcing him off the ground as they raised their arms. They flung him to the side like rubbish, crashing Genshirou against the side of a building with a thud.

He got back up with a slight stumble. "What the Hell!?" Genshirou shouted.

"Boost!"

"Just give me some time, Saji; I'll blow these assholes outta the sky!" Issei shouted, prompting Genshirou to try again.

Genshirou fired off another line with hopes that at least one of the figures would be ensnared. Its advance was once again stopped; this time, however, the water Dragon froze solid with the group within unaffected. The line was trapped within the frozen water, rendering Genshirou's attempt ineffective, but not entirely null.

The water dragon, now entirely ice, suddenly began squirming fluidly as if it was still in a liquid form with the line still within its cold body.

"Damn!" exclaimed Genshirou. He, instead of detaching the line, promoted himself to a Rook and tried what he could to hold his enemies in place.

"Boost!"

"Kinda need you to hurry, Hyoudou!" Genshirou shouted, struggling to hold his ground as the frozen projection squirmed around.

The red and black-eyed women wrapped their lines around Genshirou once more. Much to Genshirou's dismay, the lines began draining his power in the same way his Sacred Gear would.

"How is this happening?" Genshirou asked as his energy plummeted. It did not take long for him to be rendered harmless by the power of not one, but two Absorption Lines.

"Boost!"

"Hyoudou, do it now!" Genshirou yelled with the last of his energy before being rendered unconscious, his Absorption Line vanishing back into his being as he collapsed.

"Dragon Shot!"

The destructive blast erupted from Issei's arm and headed straight for the robed figures, who were now suspended within the ice and were, for the most part, unable to escape the trajectory of the blast. The blast completely vaporized the ice it struck before striking the figures dead on. A massive explosion erupted from the serpent's side.

"Gotcha!" Issei shouted, having landed his strike against them.

The blast was not at full boost, but should've been enough to incapacitate them at the very least. When the vapors cleared, the figures were in clear view. What Issei saw left him in a mixture of awe and fear.

The water Dragon had a chunk of it reduced to steaming vapor and dripping water, as expected. What was shocking was the damage stopped right at the Irish voiced man, fists lined together. The gauntlets he wore glowed an intense yellow light that persisted even after he parted his fists.

"Another Sacred Gear? Do they all have one?" Issei thought.

"Nice try ya feckin' himbo!" shouted the Irish voiced man.

"How about ya get a taste of this?" Issei shouted.

"Blade!"

After this announcement by Boosted Gear, the Holy Sword Ascalon shot from Issei's arm. The sword was a mighty dragon-slaying blade gifted to him by the Angel Michael. It bore a blue and gold adornment along the middle of the blade and large serrations near the base. Surely such a prestigious blade would sway the tides of battle in his favor. Planning on rushing in and taking out as many as he could before they could get away, Issei flew towards the group at high speed.

"Ooo, a sword fight. I want in," the short, scythe-wielding woman said before she, too, flew at high speeds towards her target. She burst through the serpent, sending shattered fragments of ice through the air, before flying circles around Issei, dazing him with an array of afterimages.

"Shit, I can't fight her like this," Issei thought before beginning his Scale Mail activation timer.

Issei struck at the afterimages with fist and blade in hopes of striking the hooded woman. Every strike was met with a cheeky whack in the back of his head with the shaft of the woman's twin scythe; she wasn't even using the deadly portion of her weapon.

"Come on, Dragon Man, I thought you were supposed to be strong; use your Boost thingy and hit me," the woman taunted almost childishly in tone. "It's not fun if you don't put up a fight."

"Give me a second and I'll show ya somethin'!" Issei exclaimed. "Ah shit, I shoulda used Dress Break before starting this thing. Woulda bought me some time," he thought.

"You know I can hear you, kind?" the Germanic man spoke with a dominating voice. "This encounter will not only require physical fortitude, but also mental fortitude. Keep your thoughts on lockdown."

"Great, can't even think things out with that guy here," Issei thought before looking at the countdown timer.

"0:46," the timer read. Issei had to survive for another fourty-six seconds before he could activate his ace-in-the-hole.

The woman continued to circle Issei, taking shots at him periodically with lightning-fast kicks. Issei was completely unable to defend against this assault.

"Come on, do something cool," she said, lunging from the sky down upon Issei. She once again used her twin scythe to strike him, this time using the blade. It seemed her patience was wearing thin.

"Welsh Dragon..."

Before Issei could even activate his Scale Mail, the woman's twin scythe clashed into Ascalon. The speed of her advance threw Issei off balance with the girl expertly landing on the ground below Issei, ready to spring back upwards for another strike.

"Balance Breaker!"

Before she could take advantage, Scale Mail deployed itself, protecting Issei from the potential follow-up attack. The armor was an imposing red, full-body set adorned with gleaming green eyes and twinkling green jewels on the hands, chest, and knees. The armor seemed as if it was made from fiery red Dragon scales that molded themselves into a humanoid shape. A red, scaly tail trailed behind the armor from the upper back. A mighty and fierce form befitting the mighty and fierce Welsh Dragon.

"How's this for cool?" Issei asked with confidence.

"Armor's no fair. Where's the fun in hiding behind some shell? Come on, fight me like a man," the woman replied.

The woman made a return trip while Issei tried what he could to block her strike. Ascalon successfully deflected the first blade of her unwieldy weapon, but the next came around upon the first being redirected. Issei managed to move out of the way before the scythe grazed the armor, leaving a noticeable scratch. This armor, born from the scales of Ddraig himself, scratched by this woman's blade? The thought was absurd.

"Damn, what is with that weapon?" Issei asked himself.

"She uses an unorthodox weapon bearing a deathly and otherworldly air, making her exponentially deadlier than most swordsmen. It would be best to not fight her like you would any typical sword-fighter. The weapon is like that of a two-toothed circular saw, making it most effective when used in circular motions but rather cumbersome when in motion; use that against her," Ddraig noted.

"Anything on the other guys?" Issei asked Ddraig.

The woman lunged towards him again from above in a spinning motion just as Ddraig mentioned. Issei deftly evaded the strike, causing her to keep going and lodging her twin scythe in the ground. Issei took this opportunity to rush in to attack only to have the woman flip around her scythe and kick it out of the ground, causing the shaft to strike Issei directly in the face. Though he was armored, this trick caused Issei to jump back out of shock. The woman grabbed her weapon and expertly twirled it around in a showboaty manner.

"The one with the gauntlets doesn't seem to have any weapon aside from his Sacred Gear: a form of front-line tank most likely. The one with the trident has to be the one projecting the water construct, making her seem more of a mage archetype. I'm not sure what to say about the two with the malformed eyes aside from tread lightly. As for the one with the maces, he hasn't displayed much of anything aside from mind-reading. Nonetheless, be wary of him and any of his movements. He may even be listening to us as we speak," Ddraig warned as Issei dodged and deflected blow after blow from the woman.

"Alright, tag is getting boring; I want to play a different game," the woman said as she frolicked around at high-speed.

She tossed her weapon at Issei like a chakram, prompting him to evade the strike only to have her speed behind him, retrieve the weapon, and rush up to him all before Issei could get his bearings.

"Aw, you didn't catch it," the woman said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I guess I win, fufufu." she said with a drastic change in tone and temperament from unnervingly cheery to terrifyingly malicious. Her menacing shift in personality and aura froze Issei in terror as the woman spun around, on the spot, with the twin scythe held at her waist. She was attempting to slice Issei in half along his midsection.

"Enough!" the Germanic man ordered. "Der kind has learned his lesson! Return to us!"

This order had singlehandedly saved Issei's life as the blade stopped roughly an inch from Issei's side. Wanting to take advantage of this hesitance, Issei powered through his brief fear and attempted to strike the woman only to strike air. Issei turned to look back at the water construct and found that the woman was already by her allies' sides. Just how fast was she?

"Sorry, I take my games too seriously sometimes," the woman said, once again with an almost childlike innocence. "See you later, Dragon Man."

"We'll meet again, Ddraig. In the meantime, take care," the soft-voiced woman said.

The water Dragon encasing the group sped through the air at speeds Issei had no hope of keeping up with, allowing them to safely vanish into the night. Issei, not even attempting to give chase, went to aid the unconscious Genshirou.

* * *

"Don't worry buddy, I'll get ya to the club house and you'll be fine," Issei said to the unresponsive Genshirou. A loud thud, as if a door had been forcefully thrown open, was heard a fair distance away. From down the street, Issei could see the front door of the Kasai residence wide open. From the doorway emerged a rather lanky and pale male figure and a large muscular male figure. The lanky figure was holding a Colt Python in his hands while the large figure leading him held a large kitchen knife in one hand and a flashlight in the other. The figure began waving the flashlight around until the light found its way to the two Devils.

"Hey, you! Hands up, head on ground! Now!" the larger man yelled with a thundering and gravelly voice at Issei. The man's expression turned to that of terror after gaining a better visual on Issei; it was as if he had seen a monster. It turns out that Issei had not exited his Scale Mail when the hooded individuals left.

"Shit," Issei thought as he lifted up Genshirou and turned to make a run for it. He was aiming to run off into the nearest alleyway and fly away without being seen.

"What the Hell? Ryuu, gun it down!" the large man sounded.

A thunderous bang was heard. The shot nailed Issei's head, but bounced off thanks to Scale Mail. Had he not been wearing the armor, he may have had his brains blown out. The lanky man shot at Issei three more times, each time nailing him in the head without fail. Issei turned a corner into an alleyway and quickly achieved lift-off before hiding himself on top of the building to catch his breath.

The two men gave chase and reached the turn into the alleyway. They positioned themselves at the entrance, backs to the wall as if preparing for a shoot-out. The lanky man lunged forward and slid on the ground, his weapon pointed towards the alleyway only to find it empty.

"Well, that is peculiar. It's gone," the lanky man stated with an emotionless and uninterested voice before standing back up.

"This is a dead end, how did it get away?" the large man asked as he shined the flashlight throughout the alleyway.

"Whatever that was, conventional firearms don't seem to faze it," the lanky man said, still emotionless in tone, as he crouched down and picked up a spent bullet from the ground. "I know I struck it all four times; I saw its body react to the impact and heard the clang of steel."

"Should we alert the military?" the larger man asked.

"I'm sorry Master Haru, but they won't believe us. They never believe the ramblings of civilians. At best, we'd probably get stuck on one of those sub-par alien report broadcasts," the lanky man refuted.

"But what if it hurts someone close to us?" the large man asked.

"We won't be able to do anything, Master Haru; I'm sorry to say that. Colt Pythons are powerful revolvers, yet even that failed to draw any blood. I doubt anything we can do will hinder that being even in the slightest," the lanky man explained.

Issei, not wanting to risk being detected and shot at again, decided not to peek his head out to get a visual on the two. He waited until they cautiously doubled back into the house before he flew off in the direction of the club house.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 6:** **30** **PM****

The rest of the ORC waited on Issei, who should've been back 30 minutes ago. The worried group feared the worst as Issei sluggishly made his way back, holding Genshirou in his arms.

The group saw Issei in the distance. Relieved by the sight, they failed to notice the fact that not only was Genshirou incapacitated, but Issei was currently in his Scale Mail. Their relief was quickly replaced with worry.

"Ise, what happened?" Rias asked while rushing up to Issei and Genshirou.

"Me and Saji had a run in with those guys we were worried about. They kicked our asses and took off," Issei replied, landing as he did so.

"Did you find out anything about them? Anything at all?" Xenovia asked, following behind Rias with the rest of the ORC.

"Most of them are Sacred Gear users, I think," Issei hurriedly responded, trying to get Genshirou inside and on a couch.

"Could you identify the Gears they were using?" Rias asked, following behind Issei as he entered the building.

"I think we should start from the beginning," Koneko recommended while she and the rest followed behind Rias.

* * *

In the club house, everyone took a seat in the main room with Genshirou resting upon a couch all to his own.

"For starters, me and Saji found them huddled together in a dark alleyway. They mentioned somethin' about others keepin' a look-out on the siblings," Issei began.

"Ai and Daisuke… so our hunches were right. They had a division keep an eye on us while another watched them," Yuuto added.

"Me and Saji planned on sneak attackin' them, but then some big guy with two maces walked in. He could hear my thoughts and maybe even Ddraig, so we were forced out of hiding."

"So we got a bulky psychic..." Xenovia said as she wrote down notes.

"He warned us not to fight them, and that they didn't want to fight. Then a woman with a weird lookin' trident made a water-snake-Dragon-thing around them and tried to fly off."

"Water snake Dragon?" Koneko repeated.

"You know something Koneko?" Akeno asked.

Koneko remained silent for a short time before turning to Akeno. "It's nothing..." she replied.

"Saji tried to tie 'em up, but wound up getting took out by some Absorption Lines comin' from the freaky-eyed things me and Gasper saw."

"Absoprtion Lines? They had Saji's Sacred Gear?" Rias asked.

"No. They both had some weird white face mask, though. I'm assuming' those were their Gears," Issei answered. "I used my Dragon Shot to strike them outta the sky, which was absorbed by an Irish douche's golden gauntlet Sacred Gear."

"They **absorbed** it?" Asia exclaimed as she tended to the unconscious Genshirou.

"Yeah, it surprised me too. Guy's gauntlets were shinin' and everything," Issei remarked. "I tried to fight 'em with Ascalon after that failed; then a girl about Asia's height with a weird looking double scythe thing rushed in and caved my shit in. She would've killed me if it wasn't for the psychic guy calling her back."

"That's odd. Why didn't they take the chance to take you out?" Akeno asked, putting her hand to her cheek.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but now we got another problem," Issei stated.

"M-M-More trouble?" Gasper repeated, quivering.

"After they fled, two guys from Ai and Daisuke's home spotted me. One was some blank soundin' dude with a killer aim named Ryuu and the second was some guy the Ryuu dude called 'Master Haru.' We're probably gonna have to pay them a visit and wipe their memory."

"I've already sent my familiar to send Ai and Daisuke some invitations to club activities in the mountains. They should already be at the rendezvous point, so that could be a problem if they are being monitored by the enemy," Rias said before resting her head in her hand. She sat in thought for roughly a full five minutes.

"Akeno, you and Issei will go ahead and meet with the two siblings and hurry them to our training grounds. I'll message Sona the situation, so they should have everything hidden by the time you four get there. I'll go and meet up with the two witnesses and wipe their memories. Asia, Gasper, and Koneko will stay by Genshirou to ensure his safety. Xenovia and Kiba will scout the area to see if they can find any traces of the enemy," Rias directed before turning to the two Knights. "If you two see anything, feed us information through these," she said as she created magical communication orbs and implanted them into each member. "We're dealing with dangerous people, more so than usual. We don't know their intentions, so be wary. If things start going south, **flee as fast as you can and as far as you can**."

"If you don't get in my way, I'll let you have your way with my breasts when we get back. That alright with you, Issei?" Akeno offered.

"Great, from one frying pan and into another." Issei thought.

* * *

 _ **We finally got ourselves some actual threats now. Hurrah for conflict!**_

 _ **Like I said before, I will be trying to attain a somewhat consistent schedule. I'll have to prioritize college work and whatnot over this, though.**_

 _ **I've been feeling that my writing style has improved somewhat over the past few chapters. Feel free to give me some criticism on that, might need to be knocked down a peg.**_


	9. Volume 1:Life 8

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **Meeting the Parents… and a Hobo?**_

With a plan set, Rias put it into motion by heading to the Kasai residence to erase the memories of Issei's Scale Mail from the minds of two witless witnesses. As she was doing this, Issei and Akeno went off to meet with Ai and Daisuke, who were waiting on the mountain path to the Devils' training ground in response to a supernatural study invitation sent by the red-haired woman. Meanwhile, Xenovia and Yuuto were sent to scout the area as the rest stayed by the incapacitated Genshirou at the club house.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence, 6:45 PM**

The home of the Kasais was a decently sized, two floor house in the outskirts of Kuoh, away from the clamoring bustle of the town. There were numerous neighboring houses to the left and the right of the building. On the other side of the street the houses were aligned by was merely an open field, untouched by industrialization and cultivation. The very scene felt so calm, it wouldn't have been unmerited to assume that not a single one of the houses were inhabited. Rias approached the house nonetheless.

"This could be a good time to get a head count on the household at least," Rias thought before she knocked on the front door. There was a brief period of silence before heavy footsteps could be heard within the building. The door was answered by a dark-brown maned man bearing hazel eyes and a titanic figure that casted a shadow over the girl. "I'm assuming that's the father. I see where Ai got her height from." Rias thought, arching her neck upwards to meet the man eye-to-eye.

"Hello there," the man greeted with a coarse voice, sounding borderline aggressive despite his welcoming smile. He wore a green and black plaid vest over a black shirt with a pair of jeans. He towered over Rias much like Ai did, only bearing much more bulk and grit than the daughter he dwarfed. He looked like the type of man who would fist-fight a bear and win just to prove a point. His imposing stature made Rias shrink despite him being a mere human. "You must be the red-haired girl my daughter told me about. Rees Graymary, right?"

"Rias Gremory," Rias corrected hesitantly, fearing a negative response from the man who looked like he could snap her in two.

"Ah, so it was Rias," the man said as he slammed his palm against his forehead, breaking his overwhelmingly hostile aura. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names. I'm more of a numbers guy."

"No, no, it is alright. I have an odd name anyway; I don't expect everyone to know it right away," Rias said, giving off a smile.

"Yeah. Are you foreign, perhaps? Rias Gremory doesn't sound like a Japanese name to me," the man asked, to which Rias replied by raising an eyebrow. "You're right. Shouldn't be asking such a personal question without so much as an introduction from me."

"May I come in?"

"Ai and Daisuke already left; I just want to let you know that in case you wanted to talk to them. Otherwise, it should be fine for you to settle yourself in a bit," the man answered, running a hand through his beard before stepping to the side to allow Rias entry.

The house interior was fiery in theme with walls of yellow and a polished hardwood floor bearing an orange tint. The living room was well lit with not only a chandelier, but a stone built fireplace as well. In front of the fireplace sat two leather chairs by each side of a leather couch. Throughout the living room were statuettes and figurines of lions and lionesses placed upon cabinets and side tables with a central table holding a statuette of a full pride of lions.

"I apologize if it is a bit bright in here. I know some people don't like yellow, but that doesn't mean I can't. That, and we had a few cans of yellow paint when we moved here. No use in spending money on paint when we got a nice supply already, I say," the man said, closing the door behind Rias.

"You seem really interested in lions," Rias remarked as she looked on at the selection of figurines.

"Those aren't really my style. I'm more of a bird person, in all honesty; my wife's crazy about them though. Please do be careful around them; not only will my wife be livid, but those cost quite a large sum of money. By the way, my name is Haru Kasai. I'm not sure if my children mentioned me or my wife to you, but I felt that I needed to get that out of the way."

"Is that so?" Rias asked. "I need to talk to you and your wife for a minute."

"Are my kids giving you trouble?" Haru asked. "Well, I mainly mean Daisuke because he can be rather abrasive towards certain people."

"No, don't worry about that. I just want to discuss something minor concerning Ai's club membership."

"Is it something about a fee?" Haru asked, putting a hand on one of his pockets as if protecting its contents. "If so, I may be able to negotiate something."

"No, no. There are no fees to this club. We just have to discuss her duties and see if they are fine with you and your wife," Rias answered, once again giving off an assuring smile.

"Alright, I'll go get Miu then. Feel free to some orange juice or something from the fridge," Haru said, pointing to the kitchen before he went deeper into the house.

Rias took the offer and got herself a glass of orange juice before sitting herself down on the couch. In short time, Haru came back with his wife, Miu Kasai.

The woman was beautiful with dark medium length hair that reached midway down her back. She was wearing a white nightgown, indicating that she may have been trying to get some beauty-sleep or something along those lines. Her facial features were much like Daisuke's: sharp and elegant. Her eyes, however, were blue instead of amber. She was a stark contrast to her brutish-looking husband, being rather fragile-looking and curvaceous instead of sturdy and bulky.

"Hello there. I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you. Had a few bumps in the day and decided that a light nap would help fix that," Miu said with a voice that reminded Rias of her own mother. "So, are you the girl who keeps pawing at my little Daisuke? Come to get my graces perhaps?"

"I think it was that Akena girl," Haru interjected.

"Akeno," Rias corrected.

"Akeno… Akeno…Thought for sure I had that one," Haru lamented as he scratched his head.

"Either way, I would like to meet her soon. I could maybe help get her closer to Daisuke. I know exactly what he likes and dislikes; do tell her to come by if she needs help. The boy needs himself a girlfriend," Miu said before letting out a light chuckle.

"I can't make any promises on that, but I'll see what I can do," Rias answered. This sparked something in her mind. "This might actually get Akeno off of Issei for me. Akeno gets Daisuke and I get Issei, it works perfectly," she thought before continuing her conversation. "That aside, we need to discuss the current membership status of Ai in private."

"Oh, don't worry about privacy. The twins are off with Ryuu while Daisuke and Ai are off to some club meetings. We're alone at the moment," Miu spoke.

"Ryuu's not here? That could cause some complications," Rias thought.

"His actual name is Ryuusuke," Haru added. "We just call him Ryuu for short. Just felt that I needed to clear that up."

"Do you know where they are?" Rias asked.

"No, not really. Ryuu said he had to go somewhere and the twins decided to come along with him," Haru said as he ran his hand through his beard.

"Aren't you afraid the kids will get hurt?" Rias inquired, concerned for the safety of the adorable twins.

"Not as long as they're with Ryuu. He can be **very protective,** " Miu stated.

Having got as much info as she believed she could out of the two, Rias decided to alter the memories of the two right then and there. She cleared any memory of Issei's Scale Mail from their minds, rendering the two of them asleep as a result. Ryuusuke would just have to be done separately. She planned to continue on with the conference once the couple regained their consciousness.

* * *

 **Kuoh Mountains, 6:45 PM**

On the mountain path, Issei and Akeno had almost reached the rendezvous point Ai and Daisuke were sent to. Akeno bore a large grin on her face while Issei endured a slight internal struggle.

"Something the matter, Issei?" Akeno turned to ask mid-stride, noticing Issei's sullen expression.

"I… No, it's fine," Issei answered.

"Come on now, it's not like I'm going to kill him." Akeno rebutted. "Like Xenovia said, it's a win-win. Daisuke and Ai are safe, I get to have my fun, _and you get to have yours afterwards_."

"I know. I'm still gonna follow through, but it just feels wrong. Not exactly sure why."

Akeno let out a brief chuckle "Oh my, oh my, is that envy?" Akeno prodded before continuing her giggling. "I sure hope so. I would love to see how hot and bothered I can get you if that's the case."

"No, that ain't it. I'm not sure what I'm feeling. Usually I'm easily bought by big breasts, but somethin' just ain't settin' right."

"Maybe you're feeling some kind of fellowship with Daisuke?"

"Kind of? Not really? I don't know; I haven't even spent that much time with the guy. Don't get me wrong, he's a chill dude and all; I think it has something to do with Ai," Issei replied as he stopped his walking.

"Perhaps she is catching your eye? Wouldn't be surprising considering your fondness of girls with her type of body," Akeno suggested as she, too, stopped walking.

There was silence from Issei. "Oh, right," Issei whispered as the saddened face of Ai flashed in his mind. Already, Issei was feeling a wave of sadness from the visualization. This had been what was troubling him.

"What do you mean by that?" Akeno asked, thoroughly interested. "If you need me to tell her, I will."

"I just don't want her to be sad again. You've never seen a sad puppy-dog face until you've seen hers; It's heartbreaking. You don't meet many people who are as positive and open-minded as she is; so I want her to feel as little sadness as possible."

"Oh, is that so?" Akeno asked, now considering Issei's side of the conversation. "Alright then, here's what I'll do. I'll wipe their memory of what I'm going to do after the fact. No one will be sad in the end then," Akeno conceded before continuing to walk along the path. "Come on now, we shouldn't keep them waiting."

"That's probably the best I'm gonna get out of her." Issei thought as he continued walking, his saddened expression gradually shifting to a complacent one.

"Oh, while we're still on the subject," Akeno began. "I'm probably going to get quite _physical_ with him for at least this time since he's not going to remember it. That and, if you really are envious, it will get a rise out of you too."

The two continued their trek to the siblings, who were stopped at a fork in the road with a signless signpost. This was the rendezvous point they were sent to; Daisuke thought otherwise, however.

* * *

"Are you certain the letter told us to meet at this spot? Are we even sure that was an invitation from Rias; I don't recall seeing that lady in any of the ORC meetings," Daisuke inquired as he looked down both roads.

"It said to meet at a fork in the road marked with a blank signpost. It was even signed by Rias. I should know; I've seen her handwriting on some papers in the club house. Rather flowery and elegant, if I'm going to be honest. Maybe we just need to wait a little?" Ai rebutted before she, too, looked around in different directions.

"Alright, we'll give them some time; If they don't arrive within twenty minutes, however, we're going to head down one of the paths," Daisuke said as he rested his hand on a knife strapped to his leg.

"Just please be careful with that," Ai warned in regards to the knife.

"I handle knives all the time, it's one of the key essentials to cooking after all," Daisuke replied. "You need to have trust in my capabilities."

"I know, but there's a difference between cutting a vegetable and stabbing a person. You've never really had to use a knife for combat; it's always been hand-to-hand with you until now. I'm not sure how well your experience with both fists and knives will blend."

"Combat experience is combat experience. I doubt it will make much of a difference to me. Plus, sensible people won't try to pick a fight with an individual wielding a knife unless they have a gun or some other advantage. If I am to be overwhelmed, however..." Daisuke said before turning to Ai with a stern gaze. " **You will need to run and leave me**. Altruism will only get us both killed in that case."

"I know that. Please don't put that thought into my head." Ai requested, already feeling emotionally overwhelmed by the grizzly possibility. "It's worrying enough that we're in hostile territory, I don't want to think about what could happen."

* * *

After about twelve minutes of waiting, footsteps were heard behind the two. They both turned to see Akeno and Issei within speaking distance. An unnerving grin was upon Akeno's face, chilling Daisuke to the bone.

"Sorry for makin' you guys wait for us. We got a little sidetracked," Issei said as the two further closed the gap.

"No, it is fine. You went out of your way to invite us to this event; we shouldn't argue about it," Ai responded.

"Heeeeey Daisuke, did you miss me?" Akeno asked as she leaned in close to Daisuke while putting emphasis on her breasts. Her attempt at flustering him succeeded as Daisuke's face turned red once again.

"Nope! Nope! Nope!" Daisuke shouted as he ran to a nearby tree and began climbing it. "Nope! None of that!" Daisuke exclaimed before a branch broke mid-climb and caused him to fall a short distance back to the ground. "Shit, shit, shit! Just act like you're unconscious; you'll be fine," Daisuke thought before beginning to play opossum.

"Starting off strong, I see. I might as well try my best to keep up," Akeno thought, trying to restrain her laughter. "Is he alright?"

"Oh, he should be fine. It wasn't that far of a fall," Ai said before she hunched over Daisuke, lightly slapping his cheeks to wake him up. "Oh my," she murmured while holding a hand over her mouth.

"Just leave me be Ai," Daisuke thought, trying to keep his ploy intact.

"Geez, did he land on his head or something?" Issei asked.

"Hold on. Let me try something," Akeno suggested.

Akeno stood over Daisuke before straddling over top of him. She leaned forward so that her breasts pressed against his and lowered her face into his, so much so that Daisuke could actually feel her breath on his face. Both Issei's and Ai's faces turned red being witness to such a promiscuous scene. Ai's face bore shock while Issei's became flushed with a perverse excitement. Ai lunged forward to try to pry Akeno off of her brother, but not before Daisuke's eyes suddenly shot open and widened to the point his otherwise sharp gaze turned the roundness of his sister's. Ai stopped her advance out of shock of the sudden revival.

Daisuke's body tensed up so much, it was actually causing him pain. His face, alongside of becoming a visage of pure fear, reached a shade of red that outclassed Rias's red hair.

"Oh, he's awake now," Akeno said before leaning closer to Daisuke's ear. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything, _at least not yet_."

"Akeno, please stop that," Ai said before she tried to pry Akeno off once again.

Daisuke's body then went full autopilot; he rolled Akeno off of him with surprising strength and force while keeping that same mortified expression.

"Oh my, oh my, someone's a little rough. _Not that I mind_ ," Akeno prodded while breaking out into a chuckle.

Daisuke stood up and took off in the opposite direction of Akeno with the speed of an Olympic runner, sprinting through bushes and tree branches unhindered until he was completely out of view. Even then, he kept on running. All of this was done without so much as a blink or whimper.

"Damn! He just took off like some shit out of Jack-Jack's Absurd Journey: Conflict Constant!" Issei exclaimed. The speed of which Daisuke fled was a surprising display for a human.

* * *

While Akeno was getting her kicks out of Daisuke's reaction, she couldn't help but suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of danger. Before she could react, a cold yet soft voice spoke right next to her ear.

"You think that's funny, huh?" the voice said before Akeno turned to face the source.

Right over Akeno's shoulder was the face of a ghostly pale man with short and wild ash colored hair. His eyes were a contrast to Daisuke's and Ai's vibrant and beautiful eyes; his were a dark brown that bordered on black and bore a soulless gaze that caused Akeno immense fear. His eyes were opened so wide, it seemed that he had no eyelids to speak of. His expression in general was blank, adding to Akeno's fear.

"You'll be wanting to run just like that when I'm done with you. Only in this case, _I won't let you get the chance_. That would be hilarious, wouldn't it? _Watching you squirm in fear just as you did him_?" the man threatened, staring deeply into Akeno's eyes.

Akeno backed away from the man to get a better visual. It turned out that the man was hunched over significantly when speaking to her. He had to be at least as tall as Ai when he straightened himself back up. He was frail-looking and wore a simple white shirt that was just a few shades brighter than his skin alongside dark and ragged jeans that were torn in various locations with his hands tucked firmly into the pockets. He was only wearing one shoe, that of which was heavily worn; it was as if he had worn that shoe for a full decade without ever taking it off.

"What's the matter? You afraid of a little foreplay? I thought people like you were into that kind of stuff; or do you just enjoy the suffering of others?" the man said in a grim, cold fashion that further sent a chill down Akeno's spine.

"Step off ya fuckin' freak!" Issei shouted before throwing a punch at the man.

Before Issei could even react, the man grabbed his arm mid swing and flipped Issei over him, throwing him to the ground with his face in the dirt. Issei felt the mass of a foot be placed on the back of his head, pushing his face further into the dirt.

"As for you, I don't have any qualms with you in particular. But if you insist, _I'll make you wish for Hell just the same_ ," the man said before taking his foot off of Issei and turning his attention back to Akeno. "Now then, back to you."

The man slowly approached Akeno, who was stricken with paralyzing fear from the man's empty gaze and cold expression despite the obvious power gap. Before he could close the distance, Ai stepped between the two.

"Ai, what are you doing? Get out of here," Akeno thought as Ai stood in front of her, blocking the man's way.

"Ryuusuke, stop this now. These are our friends from Kuoh Academy. Issei and Akeno," Ai stated, causing the man to stop in his advance much to Akeno's surprise.

"My apologies, Madam Ai, I had not realized that," the man, now known as Ryuusuke, said before hunching himself over in a form of bow.

Ryuusuke walked over to the floored Issei. "I apologize for the sudden and unpleasant soil observation, Dear Issei. I thought you were working alongside Dear Akeno," he said as he helped dust off Issei's clothes. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go calm Sir Daisuke. I may need you to keep an eye on Madam Ran and Sir Ren while I do so," he said before dashing off in the direction Daisuke went with speed roughly equal to his, disappearing within the foliage.

"Wait, Ren and Ran?" Issei asked as he looked over to a tree behind where Ryuusuke previously stood. Ren stood to the side of the tree waving at the group while Ran peered out from behind the tree, tucking her head back when she noticed Issei looking at them.

* * *

"Come on you two; everything is fine," Ai reassured, prompting the twins to make their way to her. The two dashed to their sister's side.

Midway through their advance, Ran looked over at Akeno with a piercing glare as she passed by. "Disgusting perverted succubus," Ran muttered with a spiteful tone before rushing over behind Ai's leg, still staring Akeno down.

This statement surprised Akeno; she was more accustomed to that name being flung at Issei by girls. "Me? A pervert? Do you think I'm a pervert, Issei?" she asked, genuinely putting thought into the girl's words.

"Not really... at least not until you pulled whatever that was. That was... kinda in the same ballpark of a guy pushing himself onto a girl. Sorry," Issei answered with hesitance. He wished to speak the truth, but wished not to invoke Akeno's anger.

"Wow...wow… You know, that's usually a turn on for me. Hearing it from a little girl kind of hurts. Thankfully they won't remember this," Akeno said with her head tilted downwards.

"What do you mean by-" Ai started before Akeno's head rose back up with glowing red eyes. She promptly wiped their memories of the event without even uttering a word. All the while, Akeno was giving off a slightly pained stare. The three then fell to the ground asleep while Akeno turned to Issei.

"Well, that's them taken care of. Now we need to take care of Ryuusuke and Daisuke," Akeno said, projecting a weak smile.

"Are you OK?" Issei asked, noticing Akeno's distress.

"Don't worry about it. Just wanted to buy a little time to talk," Akeno replied before putting two fingers under her ear.

"Hey President, we found Ryuu. Turns out he was on the mountain path. We'll get to wiping his memories soon enough," Akeno said through her communication orb.

"Splendid, I was just about to announce that Ryuu was absent after I got done with wiping the memories of the other target and rendering him asleep for a little while," Rias replied.

"Could you perhaps see if you can get some information on Ryuusuke from the target when he wakes up? He seems kind of shady," Akeno requested.

"Kinda shady is an understatement," Issei added.

"Very well, I'll do what I can." Rias answered. "Kiba, any sign of the enemy?"

"We have found some fresh Demonic energy residue. They shouldn't be far," Yuuto answered.

"Keep up the search. Oh, and Daisuke's mother would like a word with you sometime, Akeno," Rias said.

"Why is that?" Akeno asked.

"Trust me on this; it may be worth your time," Rias answered before cutting transmission.

"So, what are we gonna do about them? If Daisuke sees this, he's gonna flip," Issei asked.

"There's not much we can do aside from waiting for him and Ryuusuke to show up," Akeno answered as she looked off in the direction Daisuke ran. "We'll just wipe their memories and wait for them to wake up. Easy."

* * *

A click sounded by Issei's left ear. The sound was familiar, the sound of a revolver being cocked. It took Issei little time to process what was happening; he was being held at gunpoint by Ryuusuke. The only reason the gun failed to faze him previously was because of his Scale Mail. Now that he lacks that advantage, he is at the mercy of the dead-eye. Issei began the countdown timer without the gunman noticing.

"Easy, you say? The way I see it, it is going to be rather difficult to do so when your friend has his life dangling on a hair-trigger," Ryuusuke said, appearing seemingly from nowhere.

Akeno turned to see Ryuusuke holding a Colt Python against Issei's head. "How did you-" she began before being cut off by the shine of a knife gleaming below her chin. Akeno turned her head to see Daisuke bearing an expression of pure rage; his amber eyes turned to fiery orbs of hate.

"What the Hell did you do to them!?" Daisuke shouted in reference to his unconscious siblings.

"I should've saw this coming. You pretend to be their friends before luring them to some remote location by themselves just to off them. Then you dispose of the corpses in the wilderness for the fauna to feed on to cover your tracks. A great way to get away with murder. _Do you mind if we steal your idea_?" Ryuusuke threatened, still bearing both a cold and expressionless tone and gaze.

"Explain yourselves! What did you do!?" Daisuke shouted once again, bringing the knife closer to Akeno's neck.

"Ya know what? Fuck it!" Issei thought as he began making up a story in his head. "Well, it's kinda crazy. If ya hear us out, we can give ya some much needed information." Issei began.

"What a weak will," Ryuusuke muttered. "Speak."

"Well, ya see, we are hired assassins. We go along offin' marks our boss tells us to," Issei said.

"Issei, what are you doing?" Akeno thought.

"Hired assassins? Well, that gives me more than enough merit to end you," Ryuusuke said.

"If you kill us now, you will never figure out who sent us," Issei bluffed.

"I'll just rummage through your phone. Your generation keeps everything on those things anyway. Thanks for the information," Ryuusuke said as his finger neared the trigger.

"Shit, time for Plan B," Issei thought before he sprouted his wings. Akeno, in response, did the same.

The sudden burst of leathery black wings and blackened feathers caused the two humans to jump back. Daisuke's expression was a mixture of hate, fear, and confusion. Ryuusuke, however, seemed unfazed as he kept the gun trained on the two.

"What the Hell?" Daisuke said with fear constricting his voice. He almost dropped his knife as he trembled.

"Run, Sir Daisuke. Take the others with you, take to the trees, and hide. I'll keep them as occupied as I can," Ryuusuke said before firing at the two Devils. The bullet was ineffective. Turns out that Akeno put a barrier between the Devils and the humans upon lift-off. "One...miss," he spoke with a tinge of discontent.

Before Daisuke could even get a good speed going, Issei flew up in front of him. "Sorry 'bout this, dude," he said before he wiped his memory and rendered him asleep.

Two loud bangs were heard as a searing pain swept through Issei's wings. Ryuusuke had shot at them to prevent him from taking off.

"Two and three...landed," Ryuusuke murmured. "A bat without wings is a free meal to any land-dwelling predator. You are no different," he said before firing one more shot at Issei. Thankfully, Akeno produced a barrier in the path of the bullet right before it could strike his head. "Four...missed." he muttered before he swiftly turned his aim and shot two bullets through the bases of Akeno's wings while she was focused on protecting Issei, rendering her flightless as well. "Five and six... landed. Chamber is empty," he spoke as he lowered the gun. "We may die here, but I'm going to make sure you remember me and my masters."

Ryuusuke rushed over to Akeno. She put up a barrier to wall off Ryuusuke, but was unable to concentrate due to the intense pain in her wings. The barrier quickly fell and she was left to fend with only her combat prowess. She raised her fists and prepared to fight hand-to-hand.

Ryuusuke then did something beyond their expectations; he began sprinting on all fours like a panther right before he reached Akeno. He threw his whole body at Akeno's legs, tripping her before he dashed back to her and attempted to choke her out.

"Just to let you know, there are no safe words with me," Ryuusuke said, tightening his grip around Akeno's throat. Her eyes met with his empty gaze, causing immense fear to sweep through her body as her life was being strangled out of her.

"Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!"

Following this announcement by Boosted Gear, Scale Mail deployed itself. Issei quickly rushed Ryuusuke down and tackled him off of Akeno.

"So it is you again. I should've guessed by now that you two would have to be related to that thing in some way," Ryuusuke said while wrestling Issei off of him. Issei's overwhelming strength and speed quickly got the better of Ryuusuke as Issei grabbed a hold of him and held him in place. Akeno quickly caught up and prepared to wipe away Ryuusuke's memories of the whole ordeal and of the night before.

"I knew you and you other ORC creatures would be trouble. I should've just followed my instincts the moment I heard the news. **I would've killed all of you in your sleep had that been the case**. Go ahead: kill me, see if I care. My life left me a long time ago," Ryuusuke said, staring Akeno down.

It took Akeno a moment to overcome her fear of looking the man in the eyes, but she wiped his memory away. Ryuusuke fell asleep and the two Devils collapsed as well, relieved that they got out of that situation relatively unharmed. Their wings may have been damaged, but the injuries were far from life threatening.

"Who knew a hobo could be so scary? Gonna be sleepin' with the blinds closed from now on," Issei remarked as he stared into the darkened sky. His Scale Mail vanished after having served its purpose.

"We have to be careful around him. He's rather dangerous for a human," Akeno said as she, too, stared up into the sky. "Sorry about that, Daisuke. I didn't think it would go that far," she thought as she looked over to the sleeping Daisuke. Even in sleep, his despair was plastered on his face. Tears for his family streamed down his face and onto the ground.

The two began to drift into slumber themselves.

* * *

 **Streets of Kuoh, 7:25 PM**

While Rias tended to the parents and Issei and Akeno dozed off in the mountains, Xenovia and Yuuto kept on the trail of Demonic energy. The trail led through the entire town, eventually leading to an abandoned manor on the outskirts of Kuoh. It was much like the manor the group had fought the Stray Devil Viser, this time there were no human remains scattered about: just a cold, empty, ominous stillness in the air.

"Be on guard," Xenovia said as she drew Durandal from a portal in preparation. "If the enemy is capable of making short work of Issei and Saji, then they are a force to be reckoned with."

"We know what some of them are capable of. We'll just have to be wary of a select few," Yuuto said as he drew a sword with a liquid blade. This was his Water-Eater Sword with which he hoped to counter the hydromancer woman.

The two scouted through the ruined building with utmost care. They went from room to room to no avail. There seemed to be no form of life within the building, not even a single insect. Despite this, the building was rife with Demonic energy in every room. Xenovia decided to make contact with Rias.

"Xenovia to Rias. I think me and Kiba have located some form of hideout. The energy trails led us here, but we see nothing so far. That aside, the Demonic energy here is dense and fresh," Xenovia said, looking off to the left and to the right warily.

"They must've left shortly before you got there then. I would advise returning to the club house as soon as possible to avoid getting ambushed. We will coordinate an attack on the building once the current situation is diffused. I would not suggest contacting me anytime soon unless it is an emergency; the target is going to awaken soon. I'll meet you at the club house when I'm done," Rias said before cutting transmission.

"Alright, you heard her; let's get going," Xenovia said as she cautiously made her way to the exit with Yuuto up against her back keeping a watch from behind. This persisted even after they had left the building, going on for a couple of kilometers before they both took to the sky and flew in the direction of the clubhouse. Even then, they couldn't shake the feeling that, somewhere, someone was watching them.

* * *

 _ **We got some more conflict here to liven things up a bit. Let me know what you think of the murder hobo.**_

 _ **I can't really think of anything else when it comes to author statements. Coming down with some form of illness and I now sound like Solid Snake because of it.**_


	10. Volume 1:Life 9

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **A Moment of Respite.**_

After enduring the confrontation with the empty-eyed Ryuusuke and an infuriated Daisuke, Issei and Akeno slept on the ground along the mountain path. Meanwhile, Genshirou had regained consciousness, but remained at the club house until Rias arrived; whom of which was on her way back after the conference with the Kasai's parents, bearing knowledge of the Kasai family and limited information on Ryuusuke.

* * *

 **Kuoh Mountains,** **8:20** **PM**

Akeno awoke in a barren field in the mountains unlike where she and Issei fell asleep initially. Confused, she looked around to see if she was alone in the field. With a sweeping glare over the horizons, all was bare until two figures caught her eye. In the distance, she seen Issei and Daisuke talking to each other, both of which were facing away from her and at a large distance. She made her way towards the two before a lingering feeling of dread fell over her. It felt as if she was being closely watched. Cold breath fell upon the back of her neck. She quickly turned around, frightened but ready to fight, only to discover nothing. Upon turning back to face the two, she discovered that they had vanished without a trace: no crunching of grass below footsteps, no demonic nor human energy to indicate that they were there in the first place, nothing but empty space.

"Issei? Daisuke?" Akeno called out, even more confused than before and increasingly wary of the situation. She advanced further towards where the two once were. As she advanced, a subtle sound of crunching grass accompanied her steps. Though oblivious at first, she took note when one step fell out of rhythm, informing her she was not alone. She turned around to, once again, discover empty space. Slightly panicked, she turned in every direction, closely analyzing the terrain for any potential hiding spots they may have hid in or for her to use if needed. During her sweeping of the directions, she turned to see Issei and Daisuke in the distance. They were still a fair distance away with their backs turned to Akeno, but their conversation was now a barely audible whisper as opposed to silent mouth movements.

"What the... Is this a prank, you two?" Akeno asked, hoping assuring words would spill from them to dilute her confusion.

The talking between the two suddenly stopped, leaving nothing but dead silence upon the air. Fear rose in Akeno and the two remained silent for what felt like forever. "Daisuke, don't make me come over there," she said with a seductive tone, counting on the nervous Daisuke to have some form of negative reaction. To her discomfort, there was not even a twitch from him. A cold, yet familiar voice whispered in her ear as if it was leaning over her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'll come to you," the voice of Ryuusuke said, freezing Akeno's blood and prompting her to turn towards the source. She found, again, nothing but empty space. Akeno's heart sank and she slowly turned back towards the two, bearing a mixture of dread and curiosity as she did so. What she saw paralyzed her in fear.

Standing before her, within arms reach, was Daisuke and Issei. Both of them held their heads low, preventing Akeno from seeing their faces. Terror took control of her: body trembling, a chill running down the spine, sweat dripping from the head. "Stop it, this isn't funny anymore!" she exclaimed, hoping at least Issei would relent.

"I beg to differ; this is hilarious," the two before her simultaneously said. Terror gripped her throat upon hearing their voices. The cold and grim voice of Ryuusuke, the man that nearly choked her to death all while bearing indifference in his eyes, poured from them.

The two rose their heads to reveal faces not of their own, but of Ryuusuke. Their empty eyes staring into Akeno's and their ghostly skin slowly glowed brighter until they seemed to dissipate into white smoke. "Wake up," Ryuusuke's voice spoke in her ear once more.

Akeno stood completely still and closed her eyes in fear of what unknowable thing stood behind her. She held them tight and curled up on the ground, hoping for the best.

After a long period of nothing, she opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of the training grounds Rias and Sona designated. Unsure of what to believe, Akeno looked around and noticed Ai, the Student Council, and Daisuke in the distance. It seemed to be all but a dream. Her relief was short lived; she looked up to find Ryuusuke crouching on a rock behind her, watching over her like a hawk watching a mouse scurry along an open field. She jumped up and away from her ghostly observer.

* * *

"Is there a problem, Dear Akeno?" Ryuusuke asked, looking at her with an empty gaze.

"Just a light nightmare."

"Very well then," Ryuusuke said with an empty voice before he stood up, feet still firmly planted on the rock. "Dear Souna, she is awake."

"Thank you, Akahoshi," Sona said before she advanced towards the two.

Akeno dusted off her clothes as the Sitri heiress made her way towards her. She kept Ryuusuke in her peripherals, not wanting to turn her back to him yet not wanting to catch a glimpse of his eyes. "What happened while I was out?"

"We heard gunshots being fired off in the distance. We hurried our way to towards the sound to investigate. Once at the source, we found Akahoshi watching you, Hyoudou, and the Kasai siblings while everyone was asleep. We thought, initially, we had walked into a murder scene. Before we could do anything, Akahoshi pulled a gun on us. After some hard-pressed convincing, we got him to explain the scenario," Sona said mid-advance before stopping right in front of Akeno and leaning close to her ear. "I'm assuming he witnessed something he shouldn't have. We'll have you or Issei explain everything later," she whispered.

"I'm not sure what happened, honestly. All I remember was walking Madam Ran and Sir Ren up the mountain before everything went dark. I only sleep once every two days, and my last slumber was yesterday; so I'm as confused as you are," Ryuusuke said as he pulled six more bullets out of his pocket and reloaded his revolver.

"You didn't know the chamber was empty?" Sona asked, hoping to divert his attention away from his suspicious slumber.

"To be honest, I wasn't aware of that until you said something about gunshots," Ryuusuke said as he spun the chamber. "If that is the case, though, why were you afraid when I pulled a gun on you?"

"Well, we were uncertain if the gun still bore ammunition. So our fear wasn't entirely misguided," Sona rebutted.

"I'm assuming you heard six thundering shots judging by my empty gun. The standard ammo count for a revolver chamber happens to be six. It is unlikely that someone as decrepit as me would harbor anything that bears a higher ammo count anyway. Alongside that, there was no visible indication that I had more ammo. No ammo belts or any other accessory of that type," Ryuusuke argued, staring blankly at Sona, who seemed unfazed by the glare.

"To be fair, I wouldn't expect someone who looks the way you do to even own a gun," Sona remarked with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

Ryuusuke fell silent for a brief moment, eyes unblinking. "Your wit is sharper than I thought then. That is good; expect the unexpected, I always say," Ryuusuke congratulated with a blank tone before he turned his attention back to Akeno. "I'm not certain if I introduced myself to you prior to the unexpected nap, Dear Akeno, so I'll go ahead and do so just in case. I am Ryuusuke Akahoshi, faithful servant and bodyguard of the Kasai family."

"Servant and bodyguard?" Akeno repeated.

"Yes, that is correct. Be sure to tell the rest, Dear Akeno. I would much rather not repeat myself for the convenience of others; it is tiring," Ryuusuke stated before stepping off the rock and heading towards Ai, who was holding a sleeping Issei in her lap.

* * *

"Ugh." Issei grunted as he awoke. When he opened his eyes, he was treated to a bottom view of Ai's bust. There was a section in between two buttons caused by strain, giving Issei a view of Ai's underboob. His eyes shot open and widened to an amazed stare. "Jumbo jugs," he hushedly spoke in quick succession.

Ai looked down at Issei before giggling a slight bit at Issei's remark. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to give you an eye full. We ran out of pillows for everyone to rest on, so I offered to serve as yours," she said, unaware of the gaping window in her shirt and the threat of a potential wardrobe malfunction.

"I wanted to prevent Madam Ai from having to sit uncomfortably on the hard ground, so I offered to do so. She, however, thought that you would be more comfortable on her legs; and I agreed. She does provide more cushioning than I do," Ryuusuke explained before turning back to Sona. "Dear Souna, Dear Issei is awake as well."

"Cushioning?" Issei tested quietly, taking Ryuusuke's statement as an insult towards Ai. His face contorted to one of mild irritation.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Most of the time, it is best to take what he says at face value. If he says anything hurtful, don't take it as an insult either. He just doesn't have a filter and is very blunt with his words," Ai explained in a soothing voice, easing Issei's mind a bit before Ryuusuke's cold voice chimed in. The very sound of it broke him of this relief and put him on edge once more.

"The only time I'm not blunt is when I display distrust or disdain towards another. I find that the ominous ambiguity is rather effective at scaring people off," Ryuusuke stated before lowering his face closer to Issei's. "That aside, I feel that I've held a gun to your head before; I don't know why."

"Shit! Does he remember what happened?" Issei thought, internalizing his concern to not seem suspicious.

A silence fell among the field. Sona's group prepared for a light scuffle while Akeno dreaded the possibility that she improperly altered Ryuusuke's memories. Tension rose and the Devils got antsy.

"No, never mind. That was someone else. I apologize, Dear Issei, you have a very common look," Ryuusuke stated before backing away from Issei's face.

Feeling relieved that the man held no bitter memory of him, Issei let out a sigh of relief as he lied in Ai's lap. "It's not that common..." he mumbled with defiance. After taking some time to process what Ryuusuke said, however, Issei felt great unease. "And what's this about holdin' someone at gunpoint?" he asked in a louder voice, jumping slightly and bumping his head against Ai's breasts, causing one of the buttons on her shirt to come undone. This lead to another button coming undone, revealing a large amount of cleavage. "Uhhhhhh..." he droned, anticipating a merciless scolding from Ryuusuke.

"Madam Ai, this is why I suggested you to get yourself a bigger shirt; the buttons are liable to burst," Ryuusuke remarked, completely disregarding Issei's question.

"I'm sorry, but you know I wear this to brighten mens' moods when they're feeling down," Ai refuted with a gentle smile as she rebuttoned her shirt with slight difficulty, causing her breasts to shake and sway over Issei's eyes.

Tensions swelled in Issei's heart, both of the fear-born and amorous kind.

"Rapists tend to target those who dress promiscuously more often than those who don't. I want to avoid that happening to you. Please consider getting a bigger shirt; a stranger's happiness is not worth your purity, trust me. I can even get a friend of mine to tailor you one to fit your specific needs," Ryuusuke explained, expression and voice unchanging.

"Hey dude, if she wants to dress like that, I say just let her. She doesn't have to worry about a thing with a scary lookin' sonuvabitch packin' heat protecting her." Issei argued in favor of Ai. "That, and I don't think people are gonna mess with her since Death-Stare-From-Hell McGee is by her side all the time," he added before pointing at a sleeping Daisuke encircled by three of the Student Council members: Momo Hanakai, Reya Kusaka, and Tsubasa Yura.

Ryuusuke fell silent for a moment. He turned towards where Issei was pointing and noticed the three girls surrounding Daisuke. He moved towards Daisuke with a slow, unnerving stride. "While that is a good point, you underestimate the desperation of the mentally unstable. That is bad; that is a quick way to get yourself killed," he said before walking out of earshot.

"Wait a minute. Are we not gonna talk about you holdin' a man at gunpoint?" Issei asked once again. Ryuusuke did not respond and continued to walk to his slumbering master.

* * *

"So, we basically have our own Kiba now? It's a shame he's only a human," Momo remarked, looming over Daisuke.

"I wouldn't underestimate him. Tsubasa, even before her reincarnation, was quite a force to be reckoned with. He could be a candidate for a spot in Sona's Peerage," Reya noted.

"He'd probably be a Knight like Kiba. I don't see him being a Rook with his physicality," Tsubasa stated, examining Daisuke's physique.

"Shh shh shh shh," Momo hushed, noticing the approaching Ryuusuke.

"What?" Tsubasa asked before turning to see Ryuusuke walking towards them.

Reya silently turned to look towards what Momo was looking at.

The Student Council members kept a wary eye on the strange man as he approached him. While mostly unafraid of him, they were unable to shake an unexplainable feeling of unease and distrust.

"I would suggest you back away from Sir Daisuke; he gets rather worked up when around women," Ryuusuke said before taking a glance at each of the Devils, taking note of their uncomfortable expressions. "I see you are following your instincts. That is good; sometimes rationality blinds us from even the obvious."

The three, as requested, backed away from Daisuke. Ryuusuke crouched down near Daisuke's ear and whispered. "Sir Daisuke, the steak is smoking."

Daisuke sprung to life and looked around in a panic. "Turn the stove off immediately and remove it from the pan. It might be salvageable!" he shouted before gaining his bearings. He slowly looked left and right, noticing the three Student Council members. He stood like a statue; a visage of embarrassment was frozen upon his face.

* * *

The three Devils held back their laughter; the tension was far too high with Ryuusuke around.

Sona, however, held indifference towards him, not even considering him a threat. She let out a slight giggle before catching herself. "He is a cook after all..." she remarked as she adjusted her glasses, shifting her eyes in hopes that no one heard that. Her light slip-up was out of earshot of all except Akeno, who was stationed next to her.

"Oh my, oh my, was that a laugh I heard from you, Sona?" Akeno prodded. It is not often Sona shows any weakness in her stoic attitude. Akeno, saw this as an opportunity she would never have again and wished to see what would become of Sona if she were to be pressed for it.

Sona let out a brief sigh. "There's no point in lying to an eyewitness. Yes, it was; what of it?" she replied.

Seeing she was on the defense, Akeno attempted to crack into her a little more. "It's not like you to break your no-fun disposition with a giggle. Is there something about Daisuke that you've grown fond of? You do call him by his first name; so he certainly is something in your eyes."

"I know that flatly denying it would confirm it in your mind; but that is not the case. The irony of someone who looks so refined partaking in slapstick humor is simply amusing to me. As for the name: I find it convenient to call him by his first name as there is often one or more people with the surname Kasai around him. It would be confusing to address him as such if any other member of his family were to be present. I could make the same argument for you, Himejima. You seem fixated on him quite intensely. I don't recall you being this aggressive with even Hyoudou. I think you see something more in him than just an outlet for your pent-up sadistic tendencies," Sona refuted with crossed arms.

"Oh, come on now. You two would make a cute couple. I just know you sometimes imagine him caressing you in his arms while you hold a cake the two of you lovingly baked," Akeno further teased, trying to pry a reaction out of Sona.

"I do see what you're getting at, but just because me and him have similar hobbies doesn't mean I'm attracted to him," Sona rebutted. "I might, however, consider taking some cooking lessons from him. He seems to know his way around ingredients as evidenced by the gift basket he and Ai made for us."

"Well, _there's going to be a bun in the oven one way or another if that's the case_ ," Akeno remarked before something jolted her out of her playful mood. "Speaking of kids, where is Ren and Ran?"

"They are stationed with Meguri, Kusaka, and Shinra," Sona said while pointing towards the group.

Akeno looked over in the direction of the three to witness Tomoe and Reya taking cover behind large rocks while the timid Ran tossed sticks at them from atop a larger rock. Off to the side of that scene, Tsubaki was seen keeping constant and close observation on the curious Ren in order to prevent him from harming himself.

"They… have their hands full," Sona remarked, visibly embarrassed by the display.

* * *

Issei had gotten back up on his feet with Ai still kneeling on the ground, somehow still roughly eye level with him. Ai glanced behind Issei and noticed the twins giving the three Student Council members trouble.

"Issei, could you help Ryuu out with getting Dai out of that little predicament he is in? I need to go help them with Ren and Ran," Ai asked as she stood up.

"Sure, but I have s a couple a' questions before you go. What's with that Ryuusuke dude? And why is he callin' you guys 'Sir' and 'Madam'?"

"Oh, that. I think I'll tell you and the others about it when we get back to Kuoh. It would be much more comfortable to listen to a story on a sofa than on rocky ground, wouldn't you agree, my friend?"

"The ORC may have other plans for when we get back; Maybe we can try tomorrow?"

"That works fine," Ai replied before walking towards Ren and Ran. She stopped shortly after beginning and turned back towards Issei, who was already on his way to help Ryuusuke with Daisuke. "Oh, by the way, where's the rest of the ORC? I thought they would be here with us," Ai asked.

Issei stopped in his tracks, trying to come up with some form of excuse. "They said they were gonna be a little late. Said somethin' about last-minute paperwork, I think," he lied.

"Oh, I see. Someone has to take care of the menial jobs, I guess. Tell them to not be afraid to have me take care of the boring stuff from this point on when you get the chance; I don't mind," Ai replied, not taking a second to question the legitimacy of Issei's excuse.

The two split to dilute the disorder. After calming both groups down, the Devils, the siblings, and the hobo regrouped in the middle of the training grounds.

* * *

"Now then..." Sona began while adjusting her glasses. "We are here today to investigate a ruined manor not too far north of this location. We speculate that not only are there historical findings lying in wait, there may also happen to be various forms of supernatural phenomena. You see, this mountain path used to be a walkway for a family of endowed and secluded individuals who passed away one night due to unknown causes roughly two-hundred years ago. It is rumored that odd occurrences happen along the path and within the manor itself," she explained before being cut off.

"That explains us falling asleep on the mountain path. Should've assumed something supernatural happened," Ryuusuke interjected before looking up at Sona, who was giving him a less than pleasant look. "I apologize, Dear Souna; I didn't mean to say that out loud. Go on, I'll reprimand later if you desire," he said without so much as a stutter when struck by Sona's glare.

"Just be quieter when you speak next time, that is how you can reprimand if you wish to do so," Sona stated with subtle sharpness in her tone before setting herself back on track. "Anyway, we'll be breaking up into two groups seeing as how we are currently missing some members. Me, Himejima, Kusaka, Hanakai, and Shinra will scout the path and meet with the remainders in case a similar fate that befell the Kasais, Akahoshi, Hyoudou, and Himejima were to occur to them. Once we meet up with them, we will head to the manor as well. The rest of you will head straight to the manor and investigate. If you have any questions or concerns, speak now," Sona explained.

Ryuusuke walked up to Sona and pulled out his Colt Python. This shocked the Devils, while earning the man sharp, hostile glares from them all. The Student Council prepared to defend Sona if he were to so much as twitch closer to the trigger.

Ryuusuke flipped the gun and grabbed the barrel before outstretching his arm as if to give Sona his gun. "You may need this, Dear Souna. Be careful, the recoil can easily break your wrists if you handle it improperly," he said, even further surprising the Devils and even earning a surprised stare from Sona. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out roughly twelve bullets and handed them to her. "You may also need this."

"Don't you need this to protect the siblings?" Reya asked. "You don't know what could be out there."

"I only carry a gun because it makes confrontation rare and simple. I can be just as much of a threat without one. You, however, don't look the type to have combat training; so I'm handing you this for your safety," Ryuusuke explained before Sona took the gun, returning to the sides of the Kasai siblings once she had accomplished his task.

"Trust me when I say this, he would fight a mountain lion to the death barehanded if he had to protect us." Ai said as Ryuusuke made his way back to her and her siblings. The amount of trust she put in this man was astounding.

"With the way he looks, I wouldn't be surprised if he ate the thing raw afterwards," Tsubasa thought.

"But what of Ren and Ran? Someone may need to wait outside with them." Tsubaki asked Sona.

"I'll be doing just that after scouting the interior myself. If I hear or see an animal or an unidentified person inside or outside the building, I will eliminate it," Ryuusuke remarked.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to killing?" Momo asked.

"If there's a person in or around the building, they are immediately a threat in my eyes. Squatters are more dangerous than most realize; I was one before, after all. As for animals, they are primal and they can be rather dangerous if someone were to tread on their territory; thus, they are also threats in my eyes," Ryuusuke rebutted.

"Aren't you at least slightly concerned about your safety?" Ruruko asked.

"Not at all. My being is dedicated to protecting and serving my masters and their acquaintances, nothing more," Ryuusuke answered. This disregard for his own safety made him seem all the more threatening. A man willing to give his life is nothing to scoff at.

"Any other concerns?" Sona asked. There was silence among the group as she glanced left and right before finally settling on Daisuke, who was having his usual negative reaction to being around so many females. "You seem concerned, Daisuke," she remarked.

Daisuke stood silently as everyone's attention fixated on him. He froze up, unable to respond as he stared blankly at Sona.

"You're looking heated. Are you fine?" Sona asked.

"Sir Daisuke is rather timid around most women. Please don't take his silence as a rude gesture," Ryuusuke said, cutting in to speak for Daisuke.

"Ryuu, no," Ai said immediately after Ryuusuke's statement, holding her hands up to her mouth.

"Did you not tell them of this before, Madam Ai?" Ryuusuke asked, still blank and emotionless despite making a mistake.

"No, I was hoping I wouldn't have to," Ai lamented as she held a hand to her forehead.

"My apologies, Sir Daisuke. I will partake in a two hour-long ice bath once we return home," Ryuusuke said with deep bow.

This statement promptly caused several of the Devils and Ai to speak simultaneously out of sheer shock. What sane man would put himself through something like that for something as minor as a slip-up?

"No, don't do that," Ai said weakly.

"Are you trying to give yourself pneumonia?" Ruruko shouted.

"A little overboard, don't you think?" Momo asked.

"You'd do that willingly?" Tsubasa asked.

"You couldn't get me to commit to that even if ya forced me," Issei remarked.

"I'm sorry, Madam Ai; it is entirely up to Sir Daisuke to decide if I am to follow through," Ryuusuke rebutted.

Once again, eyes settled on Daisuke, anticipating a response. To the surprise of Akeno and Issei, Daisuke managed to utter a couple of sentences after a sharp sigh. "They were going to learn eventually, don't punish yourself. Besides, it makes it much easier to accustom myself with these ladies."

"Is that his problem, Himejima? Just a case of nervousness around females?" Sona asked, seeming somewhat underwhelmed by the revelation.

"Yep. I think it's a cute little quirk of his," Akeno responded while cutting a seductive glare at Daisuke.

The words had a minute effect on Daisuke, but the expression on Akeno's face caused Daisuke to dash off on a dirt trail in the opposite direction as quickly as he did when Akeno pushed herself on him. Once again, this was done without even a yelp from the terrified bishounen man.

"Aaaaaand he's gone," Issei said.

"Should I go retrieve Sir Daisuke?" Ryuusuke offered.

"No, it is fine; he's going along the trail towards the manor anyway." Sona answered. "You all might as well follow him."

The group instructed to head to the manor began their trek, far behind the fleeing Daisuke. Ryuusuke, however, first walked towards the group that was to scout the trail leading to the training grounds.

"I admire what you're doing for Sir Daisuke, but do note that your status as his acquaintance is the only thing preventing me from exacting revenge on his behalf. I would advise you to not push your luck," Ryuusuke warned Akeno with another empty stare into her eyes.

"What do you mean by 'what she's doing'?" Tsubaki asked. Ryuusuke turned towards her.

"Dear Akeno is behaving on more extreme levels towards Sir Daisuke to condition him to endure the more overwhelming interactions with women instead of starting out small. I can tell it's working too, albeit gradually," Ryuusuke asnswered.

Akeno, hoping to avert being on Ryuusuke's bad side, went along with his statement. "Yep, my plan exactly."

"Anyway, I'll be going now," Ryuusuke said before following the division directed to head to the manor.

* * *

Sona waited several minutes, letting the group vanish into the distance before turning to Akeno. "Now that they are out of the way, I require some questions to be answered and some explanations to be given," she said before turning to her two Bishops, Reya and Momo. "But before we do so, you two will need to simulate supernatural phenomena since the manor actually harbors none. Don't go overboard."

"Yes, President," the two said in unison before heading off to the manor on an alternate and shorter route.

"Now then, you are going to have to explain everything that occurred before we found you and Hyoudou asleep on the ground. Spare no detail; it will be vital for us to know." Sona said with narrowed eyes and her chin resting upon her hand.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club** **H** **ouse,** **8:20 PM**

Meanwhile, Koneko, Asia, Gasper, and Genshirou stayed at the club house. Genshirou, having recovered from his unconscious state, was tasked with visually describing everything about the culprits he and Issei fought while they waited for Rias, Xenovia, and Yuuto to return.

"Were there any odd features?" Koneko asked.

"I couldn't make out much. They were wearing the most standard black cloaks you could imagine, no insignia or anything. I could, however, catch slight glimpses of their faces when they weren't covered by a hood or mask," Genshirou answered.

"Were the mage's eyes blue?" Koneko abruptly asked, referring to the figure with the trident.

"Yes," "Genshirou answered. "Why are you asking something so specific?"

This answered caused Koneko's pupils to narrow in a feline-like manner, displaying concern in her otherwise blank eyes. "That may have been a Wani."

"A Wani. You can't be serious. You mean the Youkai kind?" Genshirou responded, fear plastered on his face.

"Yes," Koneko replied blankly though fear was present in her eyes, breaking any attempt in keeping a calm appearance.

"What is a Youkai?" Asia, being a woman of God and fairly uninformed of Youkai, asked.

"Youkai are a plethora of supernatural beings that take many forms. They greatly vary in power and temperament. Wanis are an incredibly powerful aquatic specie of Youkai renowned for their dominance over the oceans. As such, they are often referred to as a race of Daiyoukai: or Great Youkai. Their true forms are draconic in appearance, but are capable of adopting a human form if desired. If that person was a Wani, this threat is bigger than we thought," Genshirou explained.

"Th-That sounds b-bad," Gasper said shakily.

"Well, it only gets worse. I think it was wielding a Sacred Gear," Genshirou stated.

"You mean the trident?" Koneko asked.

"Yes, I think I've read about something like it." Genshirou answered before materializing a book by the name of "Encyclopedia of Magical Artifacts and Weapons Volume XII." He flipped through the pages until landing on an image that looked almost identical to the trident he saw.

The thing seemed to have been made out of blue coral. The outer prongs bore a sharp edge on the side facing away from the middle prong and were curved sharply. The middle prong was flat and bore edges on both sides, giving it a more spearhead-like appearance. The prongs themselves looked like the claws of a Dragon. Just below the junction of prongs lied a decorative segment that bore flowing engravings leading to a blue gem. The shaft was relatively bland, but ended in a spear-like end.

"Storm Core," Genshirou announced. "Otherwise known as The Cannibalistic Manifestation of the Storm. It is an Element-Type Sacred Gear with the ability to manipulate and absorb all nearby forms of electricity to make its own electrical powers stronger. It is capable of storing such electricity almost indefinitely and seemingly without limit."

"Such a Gear on a Wani. Dangerous," Koneko remarked.

"I thought God only gave Sacred Gears to those of human blood," Asia said before feeling a sharp pain in her head. "Owww."

"M-Maybe the F-Fallen Angels helped them," Gasper suggested, stuttering on his words.

"That would probably be the most logical conclusion seeing how they are capable of transferring Sacred Gears," Genshirou agreed. "Me and the rest of the council may be able to identify the other Gears. That one in particular was one that I remembered reading into," he said, still sifting through the pages of the book.

The door to the room flung open. The Devils prepared themselves for a fight by taking defensive stances with the most defensive being Gasper, who hid in a box in a corner.

"Useless vampire," Koneko muttered.

* * *

Once the door had fully opened, the Devils were relieved to see that the ones at the door were none other than Rias, Yuuto, and Xenovia. While Kiba and Xenovia had somewhat serious expressions on their faces, Rias had a rather jovial one.

"Well, that's a way to welcome someone," Rias remarked at the hostile display. "Good news, Xenovia and Kiba may have found the enemy's hideout; we can plan ourselves an offensive on their base when we regroup. But for now, we need to head to where Sona and her Peerage are stationed," she explained.

Hearing the familiar voices, Gasper poked his head out of the box.

"We have a little news ourselves," Genshirou began. "One of our enemies may just be a Wani. Not only that, but it wields the Sacred Gear Storm Core."

Rias's expression then sank to that of deep worry. "You can't be serious..." she stated with a dire tremble in her voice.

"It is just a hunch," Koneko added.

"But how does a Wani have a Sacred Gear?" Rias asked.

"Fallen Angels probably," Koneko answered.

"This isn't good." Rias said as she lowered her head in contemplation. "Is there any information on the others?"

"Not as of yet," Genshirou answered. "When we regroup, I'll tell President of the discovery and suggest we take to research to give us whatever upper hand we can get."

"Koneko, are there any weaknesses that Wanis have that we can exploit?" Rias asked.

"Their physical capabilities are shit when in human form, but they are naturally gifted in magical arts. It is stupid to give them space," Koneko answered.

"So all we need to do is fight it in close-range combat?" Yuuto asked.

"Yes. If it transforms, run. Do take note of its horn," Koneko warned.

"What do you mean by that?" Genshirou asked.

"Sharp edged horns mean a stronger physical fighter. Longer horns mean a better mage," Koneko answered.

"Noted. We should head to the mountains to meet with the others," Genshirou suggested.

The rest of the Devils nodded in agreement, all except Gasper. He tried to slink back into his box only to have Koneko approach him.

"Come on," Koneko said as she grabbed Gasper, hauled him over her shoulder, and held on tight so that he would be unable to escape even if he were to use his Gear.

The Devils cautiously left the club house to reunite with Sona and Tsubaki on the mountain path, unaware that Akeno would be present as well.

* * *

" **Haun** **ted" Manor** **,** **8:40** **PM**

The remaining Devils made their way from the club house while Akeno explained the situation to Sona and Tsubaki. Meanwhile, the group designated to investigate the alleged haunted manor had arrived at their destination. Reya and Momo, having took a shortcut, had arrived a considerable amount of time before the others and had just finished setting up the house with minor trap spells to give the illusion of a haunting.

From outside the manor, Ryuusuke armed himself with a dozen makeshift wooden spears and numerous makeshift knives made from stone and wood strapped to his legs. It turns out he made these as he followed behind the others, picking up branches, stones, and whatnot along the way and bound them together with plant fibers. This drew the concern of the Devils, who were bewildered by how far into the deep end this man has gone.

"Why the Hell do you have that many spears?" Ruruko yelled.

"What are you: Romba?" Issei yelled.

"When did you find the time to make all of that?" Tsubasa yelled.

"If there happens to be several threats in the building, hand-to-hand combat will only prove to be a liability. As an alternative, I will be bringing spears to allow for quick and silent execution. If worse comes to worse and the threats get too close, I will use these knives to execute the targets," Ryuusuke stated, hauling roughly twelve spears made from fallen branches on his back with at least twenty knives strapped to his legs. He walked up to the door and turned around. "Also, don't enter until I return. I don't think I need to explain what will happen if I mistake you for a squatter," he warned without a signal of emotion. He entered the manor and disappeared into the unnatural darkness of the building.

* * *

"So, that guy your cousin or something?" Ruruko asked Daisuke.

"Uhhh…" Daisuke droned.

"Oh, yeah. That's right." Ruruko said, remembering Daisuke's nervousness. "Your life must suck. Good looks but can't talk to girls whatsoever."

"I see why you're so afraid of Akeno. She must have a field day whenever you're around her," Tomoe added. "Why are you so shy, anyway? You have nothing to worry about. Even if you made a mistake, I don't think many girls are going to judge you for that. Half of the female student body is practically fighting for your attention."

Daisuke groaned in disappointment. He lowered his head, not making any eye contact.

"Leave Dai alone!" Ran shouted before she threw a stick at Tomoe. Fortunately, she aimed a little too far to the left and missed.

"Ran, sweetie, you need to stop that. They're just trying to help him," Ai said while making her way towards Ran and caressing the child in her arms.

"Besides, sis, if you wanna throw something, throw a rock," Ren said as he tossed a rock into the woods and hit a sign with the words "No Trespassing!" painted on it. "You don't tell me what to do, sign!"

"Should I tell them, Dai?" Ai asked with an expression abnormal for her. It seemed to be a fine mixture of serious and saddened.

All Daisuke did as a response was nod before taking a seat on a log a fair distance away from the group.

* * *

Ai sat on the grass, prompting the Devils to do the same. Ren huddled up next to her while Ran was still held within her arms. Ai looked towards the ground and let out a brief sigh. Upon raising her head back up, her visage of joy was once again present.

"To start off, Daisuke hadn't always been the way he is," Ai began. "He used to look and act much differently; he was kind of doughy in the midsection, his hair was wild like Issei's, he would always dress in a casual manner, and he was such a confident and down-to-earth person. There were several more differences, but those were probably some of the more notable ones. He lived an average life up until his fourth year in junior high. To give some context, he had been dating a beautiful girl named Natsu Aimoto for five joy filled years. I don't know what came over the girl, but she eventually left Daisuke for what she considered to be a more attractive man. I understand that people move on to see other people, but she did it so unexpectedly. I don't think she meant much harm in it, but she caused a fair deal of humiliation to Daisuke," Ai spoke as her joyful façade began wavering. She paused briefly before continuing.

"Teenagers can be rather cruel when kicking people while they're down; they showed no remorse to my little Daisuke. He became a target to a majority of the delinquents in the school he attended. This devastated his personal view of himself, making him feel that he wasn't enough. After the fact, he tore himself apart, trait-by-trait, to make himself what he believed was beautiful and desirable to compensate for his loss. However, he was never really able to regain his confidence. He was never really able to connect with other girls because he felt that he wouldn't be enough; that he would never be enough," Ai finished.

"Damn, that sucks. How long has this been going on for?" Issei asked.

"Well, he was around fifteen when it happened. He is now eighteen: so about three years," Ai answered, further losing her cheery vibe.

"And that relationship was going on for five years?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes. But Natsu wasn't really at fault. She was most likely undergoing some changes in interests. She could've been more up front about it, but I think she wanted to avoid hurting him; so she couldn't find it in herself to tell him. The relationship wouldn't have been as fulfilling if it continued for much longer; she knew that. What was really the problem was the harassment afterwards that amplified his grief. If only that could've been avoided, he would've recovered flawlessly from the break-up," Ai responded, her guise of joy had been fully chipped away, leaving her with a face of pure sorrow. She paused once more, inhaling sharply. "I know I had no part in this, but it hurt so much to know that happened to him. If only I was there, things would've been different," she added, wiping freshly formed tears from her eyes.

Noticing her saddened expression, Issei decided to crawl over to Ai to comfort her. "Come on now. I'm sure you did your best, and that's more than Daisuke could ever ask for," Issei said, giving Ai a hug while doing so.

"No, I could've done more; I know I could've," Ai said, tears streaming down from her eyes as she returned the hug. She quietly whimpered into Issei's shoulder for a few minutes. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." she said as she tried to regain composure. "I request only this, please don't try to walk around eggshells when talking to him. He may not like it, but your attention slowly helps fix him. The fact that friends would spend time chatting with him helps cement the idea that he is enough in his mind more than the blatant adoration he receives ever will."

The Devils simply nodded, gradually being affected by Ai's contagious emotions. Tsubasa went to go help Iseei help Ai off of the ground while Tomoe and Ruruko stared at Daisuke, who was still sitting a fair distance away on a log.

"Should we go over there and comfort him?" Tomoe asked.

Ruruko nodded in agreement before the two began moving towards Daisuke.

* * *

Before they could do so, Ryuusuke barged out of the manor, scratched and swollen in several locations and missing several spears and knives. He seemed unfazed by it all despite the physical damage he had taken. "Area secure. A few rodent dens, several warring hornet hives, and a family of badgers were eliminated," he said as a large hornet vigorously stung his arm. He promptly grabbed the hornet between his index finger and thumb and bit the head and thorax off of it. "Do you wish for me to clean the location now or later? The aftermath is not exactly pleasant; I would recommend letting me dispose of the corpses. Oh, that one was packing a lot of food for the larvae," he said before swallowing the insect's upper half. He then bit half of the abdomen off and tossed the rest away.

This display greatly unnerved most of the Devils, who jarringly shifted from sympathetic to fearful within a second. Tsubasa, however, marveled at the gritty display.

"What...the...fuck? And I thought those creepy magical girl wannabes were scary," Issei thought.

"How did he clean the entire manor out that quickly?" Tomoe thought.

"Are we sure this guy is even human?" Ruruko thought.

"This guy is awesome. Weird as Hell, but awesome," Tsubasa thought.

"Am I interrupting something? I'll head back in if so," Ryuusuke said, pointing back to the interior of the manor. "There were some golden treasures in there. If anyone wants anything from within, just let me know."

"No, it is fine Ryuu. Please do clean out the carcasses," Ai said.

"Very well, Madam Ai. It will take me some time to remove the aftermath, so feel free to get back to whatever you were doing," Ryuusuke said before heading back into the manor.

It took Ryuusuke about ten minutes to clean the manor of the aftermath. Once he returned to the group, they went into the manor. As instructed by Sona, Reya and Momo served as the ghosts within the manor. Once they had entered, the Devils unanimously voted that Daisuke would lead in an attempt to bolster his confidence. Throughout the manor, the Devils would feign fear while Daisuke would brave the supernatural phenomena. Meanwhile, Ryuusuke remained outside to tend to Ren and Ran.

* * *

 **Kuoh Mountains, 8:50 PM**

Rias and the rest of the absent Devils met up with Sona, Tsubaki, and Akeno on the mountain path. They sat down and conversed about the matter at hand with Rias explaining their discovery.

"That is definitely trouble. Wanis are powerful as is, but now it has the ability to manipulate and absorb electricity. At least we know how to best it now," Sona said, resting her chin on her index finger and thumb.

"So we have to employ a rushdown strategy?" Tsubaki asked.

"It would seem, but there lies a problem," Sona began. "Its allies most likely know to protect it from close-ranged combat. We'll probably have to distract the others, but that will be difficult as well since the psychic can easily see through our plan."

"They also seem to have an assault unit with the double-scythe wielder and a defense unit with the Counter-Type Sacred Gear. Quite a solid team," Akeno remarked.

"The defense unit, however has a hot-headed personality. We can probably goad him into isolating himself," Saji suggested.

"Still, the biggest problem is going to be the psychic," Tsubaki began. "Maybe we can have Koneko draw his attention; he can't read our minds if he is preoccupied with someone else."

"As for the masked duo..." Sona began. "Rias, Hyoudou, and Himejima should combat them. Quarta and Kiba will have to combat against the scythe-wielder as they are the only ones with adequate speed. Yura, Saji, and Nimura will fight the Wani. Meguri and Shinra will combat the Counter-type Sacred Gear user. Me, Kusaka, Argento, Vladi, and Hanakai will scout out for the other targets and will alert everyone when or if we do spot them," she said before raising her head from her hand.

"I will have Akeno, Kiba, and Xenovia head back to their base tonight and have Akeno plant a surveillance spell within the base. They'll feed us information about their plans and whereabouts while we plan a counter to their fighting styles. Once we have adequate information, we will attack and eradicate them," Rias explained.

"Very well then. Once we return to Kuoh, me and the council will research Sacred Gears going by Saji's descriptions. Hopefully, our research won't be as fruitless as before and we'll discover something. Once we have information on their Sacred Gears, it will be much easier to plan around them. We will have to keep the other targets in mind, however," Sona said.

With a semblance of a plan formed, the two Kings decided to build off of it once they returned to Kuoh: a more controlled environment. Akeno asked a rather off-topic question.

"Did you find out anything about Akahoshi?" Akeno asked with a dire expression on her face.

"Oh, him. Well, I didn't find out much about him specifically. I did, however get a family history story," Rias answered. "I'll probably talk about it later, but we have more pressing matters to tend to."

The Devils went to reunite with those stationed at the abandoned manor. Akeno filled Rias in on Ryuusuke, emphasizing on his creepy nature, along the way. Once they had reunited, the groups wrapped up the manor investigation shortly after and began to head back to Kuoh. Along the way, Sona handed Ryuusuke his Colt Python back.

Once at Kuoh, the humans retired to their homes for the night while the Devils returned to their respective headquarters to undergo planning, research, and monitoring both the enemy base and the Kasai residence. Along their way back, the Devils talked about their discoveries and experiences from when they were up in the mountains.

Not much happened for four days. The peace, while at first unnerving to the Devils, became a much appreciated rest considering the past couple of chaotic days they had endured. Despite this, they diligently watched over their friends and town, anticipating an attack by the hooded individuals and whatever colleagues they may have.

* * *

 _ **Finally got this chapter done with. I apologize if the end seems a little rushed, I just felt that whatever I could've wrote there would've been a massive restatement of the chapter itself. That would not be fun to read in my opinion.**_

 _ **This is the last actual chapter of the first volume. I will be making an extra chapter after this before moving onto Volume 2. I may also take a little break between Volume 1 and 2 so that I can get whatever I need done with done.**_

 _ **As always, feel free to give me criticisms or to point out any errors I made. I would rather know of any errors now instead of finding out when I'm halfway through the story.**_

 _ **Volume 2 is going to be a bit more tense instead of being a "Get to Know the Characters" volume like Volume 1 wound up being. Not sure if that is a bad thing, though.**_


	11. Volume 1:Extra Life

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **A Lesson in Love, Cooking, and History.**_

During the third day of relative peace—which happened to fall on a weekend—the Devils and the Kasai family gathered together at the Kasai's residence on Rias's suggestion, promising a story they might find interesting.

Dressed in their Kuoh Academy attire, the Devils gathered themselves within the cozy living room. Ai sat on a sofa illuminated by a burning fireplace beside her mother. She wore the fancy suit Rias and Issei had seen her wear in the club house some time ago. Miu, instead of a night gown, wore a lovely strapless dress of a red hue bearing white rims alongside a pair of matching dress slippers. She bore golden earrings in her ears and bright red lipstick that contrasted heavily with her vivid blue eyes. Haru stood nearby, wearing a brown vest over a dark-brown collared undershirt with a white tie pinned under the vest. He wore a fur-lined jacket over the vest-undershirt combo with brown pants and black shoes.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence 10:40 AM**

"These are some neat figurines," Asia remarked, holding a finely crafted red onyx lion perched proudly upon a rock.

"Please refrain from touching that, Aza. That figurine was an anniversary gift," Haru requested from across the room, a look of utter terror upon his face contrasting heavily with his overwhelmingly masculine appearance.

"Sorry, sir," Asia said as she gently put the figurine back on the table she found it on. "I don't mean to sound rude, but my name is Asia."

"How did I mess that one up?" Haru lamented as he cupped his face in his hand before letting out a brief sigh. "I swear, I can remember the first twenty-five digits of pi off the top of my head, but can still confuse Yuu for Yii," he said as he raised his head from his hand.

This remark earned a chuckle from a majority of the group. Koneko, as expected from the stern girl, did not chuckle and instead stared at the lion figurines. Her vivid golden eyes were about as reflective as the figurines themselves. "So many lions."

"Yeah, Miu loves the things. Whenever she sees a statuette of a lion that catches her fancy, her little blue eyes twinkle with delight and she asks me if we could buy it. I keep telling her that we'll wind up in a ditch if we keep spending money on them," Haru stated.

"Yet he still buys me one every five months. He makes sure every one of them is top quality even though I keep telling him I wouldn't mind a cheap plastic one," Miu said with a soft smile.

"As stingy as I may be, I'll never give any member of my family a shoddy 1,000 yen gift," Haru said with a large smile as he lightly embraced his dainty wife. His massive arms looked as if they could snap her in two if he were to be careless.

"How much money do you guys make anyway?" Issei asked.

"Well... I work as a construction worker for a roughly 2,000 yen hourly wage and Miu works as a yoga instructor for about 1,100 yen an hour. Ryuu, Ai, and Dai tend to the home and twins," Haru answered.

"Speaking of Ryuusuke, how much do you pay him?" Tsubasa inquired.

"A home, food, and water is all I require. My masters keep insisting on giving me more for my services, but I refuse to take more," Ryuusuke interjected, crouching with his back against a wall. His expression and voice, as usual, blank and soulless.

"Yeah, he even donates any gifts I get him to one of us," Haru said as he scratched the back of his head.

"I mean no disrespect in it, Master Haru; I just feel that spending money on someone who bears an overall apathetic view on life is a waste," Ryuusuke said as he stood up to readjust a picture on the wall he sat up against.

"Yeah, I know. But I still consider you family; so I'm going to give you a gift even if you give it away just so you feel appreciated," Haru said, walking over to Ryuusuke before putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I bet your room is barren based on what you're saying," Yuuto said, giving a slight smile towards Ryuusuke.

"Actually, Dear Yuuto, my room has a few things in it," Ryuusuke corrected. "A bed, a desk, ammunition, and a few other things."

"Please, just call me Kiba," Yuuto insisted.

"Very well then, Dear Kiba," Ryuusuke said.

"Close enough," Yuuto conceded with a shrug.

* * *

Ai looked around in several directions as if searching for someone; she even stood up partially to give herself a better view. "Does anyone happen to know where Daisuke and Souna are?" she asked.

"They are currently back on Kuoh Academy grounds," Tsubaki answered. "President Souna wished to learn about cooking from him and thus pulled him into the Academy's kitchen some time before we left the Council Headquarters."

"Did I hear that right?" Akeno interjected from a chair by the sofa Ai and Miu were sitting. "Is Souna alone with Daisuke?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Tsubaki replied.

Akeno giggled with her hand raised to her mouth, her face formed a large grin partially hidden by her hand. "Oh my, oh my," she said before looking over to Miu. "Don't be surprised if you become a grandmother soon."

"Why is that?" Miu asked.

"I believe Souna has a bit of a soft spot for Daisuke. She rarely laughs and is not quick to call someone by their first name, yet has done both with him around," Akeno answered, still grinning.

This news shocked many of the Devils present. Koneko, despite her indifference, couldn't help but turn her attention to the conversation with widened eyes.

"Wait, are you sure it was her doing the laughing?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yep, I was right by her when she did it," Akeno answered.

"You're Akeno, right?" Miu asked.

"Correct," Akeno answered.

Miu grinned as well before leaning in closer to Akeno. "You better get a move on before Souna takes Dai from you. You'll be missing out on quite a catch."

"She likes messing with nervous people," Koneko remarked.

"Yeah, his reactions are hilarious, but I'm not sure he's the type for me. Sorry," Akeno refuted.

"Ohohoho." Miu chuckled. "I've seen this type of scenario before. You'll tease him and say you're not interested; but when he gets used to it, you'll miss his reactions and will try everything in your power to draw one from him. In doing so, you'll slowly begin to fall for him," she explained. "I would recommend you make your move before Souna does. He is particularly fond of shrine maidens, so try dressing up as one if you want to entice him."

"Actually, Akeno is a shrine maiden. It's like you two were made for each other," Rias said, grinning in a playful manner with eyes cut towards Akeno.

Miu cooed in excitement while giddily bouncing on the couch. She turned towards Akeno. "You're all set then. Just make a move in your outfit and I'm certain he will fall for you in no time. Make sure you do it before Souna locks him into a relationship, though."

"President? Interested in a human? No, that can be right," Genshirou thought. He scoffed at the idea; the thought of the sibling of a Satan having romantic ties to a simple, barely remarkable human was absurd to him.

"I don't think he will ever love Akeno," Koneko interjected with her usual blank tone as she approached Miu and Akeno.

"That is quite a hurtful thing to say, Dear Koneko," Ryuusuke added, appearing from seemingly nowhere behind the small girl. Akeno jumped a slight bit at his sudden appearance while Koneko stood unfazed.

"He's afraid of her," Koneko remarked as she turned towards Ryuusuke and looked high up to meet with his eyes. "You can't love something you fear."

"Wrong: my masters were afraid of me when we first met, yet they came to love me. If anyone can genuinely care for something as repulsive as me, then there is still a possibility for Sir Daisuke and Dear Akeno," Ryuusuke refuted before taking note of Koneko and her blank expression. The depths of her blankness seemed to mirror his own. For once, something could be seen in his eyes: something faint and sorrowful. He knelt down to about eye level with Koneko, "So young, yet so lifeless. Quite a shame to live in apathy in the most joyous and impressionable years of your life. It only gets worse, so I suggest you lose your aloof nature before it becomes who you are, Dear Koneko. You may think being cold makes you strong, but it only makes you weak and lonely in the end," he said before standing back up and walking over to a tilted portrait to readjust it.

Koneko blankly stared at him as he walked off.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Kitchen, 10:20 AM**

While everyone gathered at the Kasai residence, Sona and Daisuke were situated in the kitchen of Kuoh Academy. Here, Sona was to receive her cooking lessons from Daisuke. The two took to a pair of neighboring gas ovens connected by a countertop before gathering utensils and various ingredients for the lesson.

"Now then…" Sona began as she finished tidying up her cooking station. "I have heard from Ai that you are an astounding cook. I have even tasted some of your foods and can say, with confidence, that you are the fittest candidate to be my cooking instructor," she said before pulling out a recipe for one of her cakes from her pocket and handing it to Daisuke. "We shall start with something I am familiar with and branch outwards from there. I will require you to examine this recipe and inform me on what needs to be improved."

Daisuke, having this pressed upon him on such short notice, did the only thing he could: freeze up and panic internally. "What's this about instructing? I thought I was only here to make a meal, not teach a cooking class to the Student Council President of all people! Shit, shit, shit! Alright, calm down. I just have to look at a recipe and give feedback," he thought before holding up the recipe to review it. Upon reading it, his otherwise sharp eyes opened wide. "What in the Hell? What is with this ingredients list? Why is garlic salt an ingredient on this? The technique and process is alright, but these ingredients are horrendous! The Hell am I going to say?" he thought.

The appalled reaction from her instructor came off as one of impression instead. She grinned while straightening out her posture more than normal. "Well then, what are your thoughts on it?" Sona asked, giving off a prideful energy. "Spare no detail, spare no honesty,"

Daisuke was now even further conflicted. "I...um...well...this..." he stumbled, uncertain of what to say. "AAAAHHHHHH! Oh what do I say now? I can't be harsh about it, but the ingredients…they're absolutely infuriating. If I hadn't read this right, I would've thought this was a recipe for a burrito. I can't just go off and pick it apart like a raging barbarian, she'll think of me as a heartless brute. What the Hell do I do?" he thought as anger boiled in him, causing his heart rate to rise at an alarming rate. He had no plans on letting it loose, so his heartbeat continued to rise until it had reached such speed and intensity it became audible to Sona. His heart was bound to blow out if his panic were to continue.

"I know you're a nervous individual, so this must be rather stressful. Please do take your time to compose yourself; I can be patient. Besides, we are on no form of time constraint," Sona said, losing that proud posture in favor of tending to Daisuke's panic.

These words helped lower the intensity of Daisuke's reaction. His heartbeat lowered to a safe rate and he regained some semblance of calm. Despite this, he was still having some noticeable difficulties speaking. "I um… well… the process is great as is… but it…the… ingredients."

"Yes, what of the ingredients?" Sona asked as she pulled a pen and notepad from seemingly nowhere.

Daisuke shut back up. While he wasn't frozen up as he would usually be, he was rendered completely silent. He hunched over the stove and hung his head low. His uncertainty was obvious to Sona, who put her notepad down and let out a sigh.

"I appreciate that you are taking my emotions into concern, but that is not of the essence at the moment," Sona said before grabbing Daisuke's face and turning it to hers, a strong blush forming on his face as she did so. "I understand trying to teach a topic to a superior can be stressful, to say the least. You want to try your hardest to not hurt or disappoint. That is why I'm coming at you as an equal. You may not know this, but I rarely address anyone by their first name. The only one in Kuoh who has earned such respect from me before you is Rias. That should give you a grasp on how I view you. I hold great respect for your culinary skill, as I feel it far outclasses mine. I may be your President in the council, but you are my teacher in the kitchen. While I may address you and your sister by your first names when you are together to avoid confusion, it is you who I will consistently address as 'Daisuke'. What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. No matter what you say or do here, I will not think of you as anything less than my teacher. That is because I know that, no matter how harsh the correction, you are doing what is needed for me to improve. Now, I will ask again; What do you think of my recipe?"

Sona let go of Daisuke's face. It took him a moment to process what she had said to him; but when it did, a sudden rush of a fiery feeling surged through him. It had felt akin to rage, but the burn was much less violent and much more passionate. The words rang in his head on repeat, further intensifying the alien feeling. Eventually, he spoke with a dominant air only seen from him when in a blind rage. But now, there was no rage: only confidence.

"Well, to begin, your technique is impeccable as is. The glaring blemish, however, is the selection of ingredients. I'm not sure what you thought you were doing, but half of this doesn't belong in a cake. Have you received any reviews for your cakes?" Daisuke spoke with a commanding vibe that surprised Sona. She jumped a slight bit and scrambled for her pen and notepad.

"I have only my sister for reviews, Teacher," Sona answered as she recomposed herself and readjusted her glasses. "She has informed me that they are spectacular on every level."

"Only your sister?" Daisuke repeated.

"Yes, Teacher," Sona answered. Her own submissiveness in the situation surprised her. To think that one as nervous as Daisuke could harbor such an influential energy was a pleasant surprise. It is such a shame he rarely uses it.

"I see the problem. You're catering to a specific taste and considering it the norm. Everyone has a different palate and will respond to the same foods differently. What makes a chef proficient in his or her field is the ability to find a mix in menu that appeases as many taste groups as possible. You won't be able to please everyone with a single dish, so you must specialize in others in order to appeal to the groups who disliked your cooking prior. I'm not saying to completely abandon your current recipe, as you have found a dish that appeals to an eccentric palate; that is, more often than not, difficult to accomplish. I'm just suggesting you concoct a new one if you wish to serve a cake to someone other than your sister," Daisuke lectured.

"I see," Sona said as she quickly jotted down notes.

"Cooking is mostly about passing along recipes and improving them; so I'll give you some of mine to give you have some foundation to work on. Let's start out with one of my personal favorites," Daisuke said before pulling out a recipe of his own and placed it on the counter-top. "Blueberry Skyr Cheesecake: A beautiful, smooth, and creamy dessert of Icelandic origin packed with protein while also being generally low on fat, if not fat-free. Made with delightful Icelandic Skyr yogurt that is high in protein and low in sugar. The blueberries provide plentiful antioxidants alongside giving the cake an elegant appearance and fruity taste. A marvelous choice for a healthier alternative to a more standard cheesecake recipe. We will be making two today: one for us and one for our friends and my family. Before we begin, do you or any of your friends have any food-based allergies that I need to be aware of?"

"No, Teacher," Sona responded.

"Splendid. I have brought some pre-made Skyr portion for this occasion; this should only take an hour and a half instead of the full day required to make the cake," Daisuke said.

"A full day?" Sona repeated.

"Preparing the Skyr portion of the cake takes between twenty to twenty-four hours. Thankfully, it can be refrigerated for two weeks afterwards. I'll explain the preparation method after the cake is made, let us just focus on the now," Daisuke answered.

"Yes, Teacher," Sona replied.

The two went to work on making the cake. They had to scour the kitchen for the required ingredients before Daisuke took the lead and began the process of making one of the cakes as a form of step-by-step guide for Sona.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence, 11:10 AM**

"Shall we begin?" Ai asked as she turned towards Miu.

Miu nodded to her daughter before clapping loudly to draw everyone's attention. "Alrighty, we're about to start," she said with a raised volume.

The Devils huddled together in the center of the living room, waiting to hear what the two had to say. Haru stood behind his wife and daughter while Ren sat by Rias and Ran clung to Miu. Ryuusuke, however, crouched against a wall off to the side.

"Now, where to start..." Miu said as she put a finger up to her chin. "Ah, yes. Me and Haru, before we were married, were kind of on bad terms. We came from two families that held a bitter rivalry between each other. I came from a rather well-off family that put little effort into a large, largely autonomous, and profitable business while Haru came from a less fortunate family that put their heart and soul into a rather small and less profitable business. Despite the large gap in the social ladder, we were roughly equal when it came to financial success," she said before pausing, noticing that Issei wished to say something based upon his slightly raised hand. She looked towards him, waiting for him to respond.

"So, basically 'Romeo and Juliet: Art of the Deal Edition'?" Issei asked, not trying to sound rude. His fellow Devils looked to him with either a scornful glare or a look of confusion. Koneko was fixing to slap the back of Issei's head before something loud boomed throughout the room.

Haru had burst out with thunderous and hearty laughter that filled the entirety of the house. This went on for roughly ten seconds before Haru could manage to speak. "I love this guy already!" he exclaimed as he pointed directly at Issei. The scornful glares dissipated, turning into either confusion or complacency. All but one individual let Issei's remark slide: Ryuusuke Akahoshi.

This remark drew the petrifying gaze of Ryuusuke. From across the room, he stared Issei down. "Dear Issei, speak like that again and I will distribute some _'Crime and Punishment'_ upon you when you least expect it," he said. This threat, combined with his intimidating appearance, caused Issei to freeze up.

"Ohohohohoho!" Miu laughed before regaining a semblance of her composure. "No, no. It is fine Ryuu. That is probably the most accurate analogy I've heard thus far," she said before she continued her fit of laughter.

"My apologies, Mistress Miu," Ryuusuke conceded before turning his attention back to Issei. "Dear Issei, please be more careful with your word choice. Indiscriminate of if you mean harm or not, I will not take anything I perceive as a threat or insult towards my masters lightly."

"I'll try dude," Issei replied, he shuddered as he broke eyesight with the ghoulish man.

* * *

After Miu's laughing fit had ended, she continued her story while running a comb through her dark hair. "Anyway, we were raised to despise the rival family, yet grew rather close to each other against their wishes. It's like when you're told you can't have something; you'll only want it more. They planned on casting us out, but decided to let us build a relationship so long as we proved to be more productive than both families put together. While it was intended to be a method of threatening us to stay apart, it only made our bond stronger; we both wanted to prove our families wrong. Shortly after the agreement, me and Haru got married. From there on, we worked to build ourselves a business that overshadowed the both of them. Our success opened their eyes to new possibilities, causing them to gradually break down the barriers between the two. While they are still in the process of trying to chip that wall, they are planning on banding together to make a multi-million business together. As for us, however, we lent a large chunk of our property and resources to them in the form of a contract-bound investment that states that our division of the family gets a share of the business's profits once it does gain traction. As of now, we are of moderate wealth with a promising future ahead of us."

"As for Ryuusuke..." Haru interjected. "We met shortly after we moved into Kuoh. It was quite a crazy day when we met him."

"Ah yes, Ryuu." Miu said as she turned to look at Ryuusuke. "Would you take the honor of telling our guests how we met you?"

"Certainly, Mistress Miu," Ryuusuke said before walking to Miu's side. "To answer the question that has been in your heads since you've met me: yes, I was a homeless man before I met my masters," he said, looking mainly at Issei as he did so. "The day was an average one for me, fighting wildlife and fellow homeless individuals alike to retain my territory and, by extension, the resources that fell within it. I began my daily patrol of my territory as I would any other day. Midway through it, however, I noticed my masters walking along the sidewalk right before a branching alleyway. They held less than pleasant expressions when looking at me: save for Madam Ai, of course. I concluded they thought I would try to rob them, so I kept looking straight ahead. As they neared me, a mugger dashed out from the alleyway and put a knife to Sir Daisuke's throat. To my surprise at that time, however, Sir Daisuke held his own fairly well when he head-butt the individual in his nose and disarmed him. The boy is fearless, but rather unrefined in his fighting style. The mugger promptly pulled a gun—which would later on become the very same gun I use today—on them and waved it around like an untrained buffoon. I took action by coming up behind him, wrapping my arm around his neck, and promptly snapping it. To make sure he wouldn't get up, I shot him two times with his own gun; one in the head and one in the left breast. After the scuffle, I attempted to return to my patrol before they offered me a bodyguard job and, eventually, a servant job. I, being homeless at the time, viewed this as a life-changing opportunity. They offered me exorbitant wages for something so menial, so I blankly told them that I only require the most basic necessities."

"But what of your life before then?" Tsubasa asked. "What made you so dispassionate?"

All Ryuusuke did in response was stare blankly into space. This blank stare was empty for even his standards. It was as if he was reliving his entire past in that moment, reflecting on his choices that led him here.

"Oh, that is something that Ryuu hasn't told anyone: not even us," Haru interjected.

"So he has some regrets too?" Tsubasa asked.

"Not really, I just don't like those memories. That, and I feel that a man who has no chance of a legacy is best forgotten," Ryuusuke answered after snapping himself back into reality.

"Oh come on now, there has to be someone out there," Tomoe said.

"I have very slim hopes, Dear Tomoe. The only chance I have is with a blind woman. Even then, she would have to be able to tolerate my apathetic demeanor. I also doubt any child of mine would appreciate having a decrepit husk as a father," Ryuusuke refuted. "But enough of me: let's give Madam Ai the floor."

* * *

"Thank you, Ryuu." Ai said. "Anyway, after they had set in stone a successful future, our parents decided to have us. I was born a year before Dai. I've already went on about Dai's life, so I'll spare you the re-run. Ren and Ran were born eight years after Dai on the same day. To be technical, Ran is older than Ren by 20 minutes. Their lives have been rather peaceful; and I hope it stays this way. As for me…" she spoke, pausing briefly afterwards. A strong blush formed on her face, smile still withstanding. "I was…well…"

"Ai was quite the rambunctious girl in her early years," Haru interjected. "She was nothing like what you see now. She would get into fights on a daily basis—and win most of them," he said before hugging Ai from behind the couch. "She also took up a habit of gambling in her early teens."

"I was, and still am, a devil at cards. I could net at least 10,000 yen a game. There were a few times where someone accused me of cheating and pulled a gun on me, though," Ai added, blush intensifying.

This revelation shocked the Devils; even Koneko couldn't help but raise her brow in surprise. The fact that such an innocent and kind girl could even harbor a negative feeling towards another left them speechless. The silence caused the blush on Ai's face to grow an even deeper shade of red as time flew by.

"What made you stop?" Koneko asked.

Ai's smile shattered and her blush quickly faded. Almost immediately, tears began forming in her eyes. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," Ai said weakly.

The parents' cheerful expressions, too, dropped to ones of sadness. Haru began tightening his hug around her while Miu gave a hug, albeit lighter, as well.

"If you don't want to talk abou…" Issei began before being interrupted.

"No, no, no. I've hid this long enough. I can't stand keeping it secret anymore," Ai interjected, tears streaming down her face. "Ren… Ran… please go to your rooms for a little. Please?"

"Alright Ai. Ren, come on." Ran said while pulling Ren with her by his arm.

"But I wanna know. Come on, let me go," Ren said as he fought against Ran, creating a standstill.

Ai signaled to Ryuusuke to aid them into their rooms. Ryuusuke gave an understanding nod before walking over to the twins and scooting them to their destination. Once out of earshot, Ai tried to speak once more before being interrupted by her parents.

"Ai, sweetie, they don't need to know. All talking about it will do is bring trouble back to you," Miu said while caressing Ai.

"We can take it. It doesn't matter how bad it is, we won't think of you any less," Issei said in an attempt to comfort Ai.

"Everyone has their fair share of demons. You don't have to be afraid of talking about it," Genshirou added.

Ai sat, crying her eyes out in response to their attempts. She soon wiped away her tears and tried speaking again. "I remember the day vividly. The sun shining at its highest point. The smell of gasoline upon the air. The blinding rage clouding my judgment. The warm blood on my knuckles and a dented lead pipe in my other hand. The sounds of faint breathing before still silence. The deafening shouts of my conscience," she began, gasping for air between each sentence.

It didn't take long before the Devils pieced together what Ai was getting at. Their faces grew increasingly shocked as the seconds went by. Koneko even seemed fazed by it, her eyes widening in response to the words. Ai, this loving and pure girl, had actually murdered someone.

"I didn't want to do it, but after what they did to Daisuke... after they took Natsu away from him and tormented him for it. I couldn't hold myself anymore," Ai said.

The inclusion of the word "they" only intensified their shock. Ai didn't murder just one person, she had murdered multiple.

"My parents knew that I would turn violent if I found out, so they kept it a secret from me. Eventually, Daisuke slipped up and told me of them. Their names…their looks…their harsh words and actions…they were all burnt into my memory. I was filled with rage every time they were mentioned. Eventually, I found them all huddled together, chatting and laughing away. I don't think the one Natsu went for was in on it, but he did something that turned him into a target for me. As it turned out, Natsu was only a secondary for him. I know so because I overheard him talking of it; he laughed while doing so. The fact that he had took Natsu from Dai for such a heartless reason…I couldn't stand it. The lead pipe in the alleyway…it was too tempting. The empty street…too perfect a chance to pass up. I took the pipe in hand and bludgeoned them all to death. Ten people met their untimely end without justice," Ai continued, pausing every so often.

"What do you mean by 'without justice'?" Asia asked, holding her hand up to her mouth.

"We left town the same day, leaving everything we owned behind. We had essentially moved across the entirety of Japan to escape punishment. Our extended family has been protecting us for several years, being the last line of defense from me being incarcerated." Ai answered before continuing her story.

"After it all happened, I woke up from my rage and realized the gravity of what I had done and the repercussions it would have on my family. I did away with my anger and substituted it with the happy personality you've come to know today as both a coping mechanism and in remembrance to Daisuke's old personality. I will understand if you look at me as a monster and will accept my punishment if you were to report this, but I needed to get this off of my shoulders. I've heard admitting your mistakes help in subduing the guilt," she said before handing her phone to Issei, who looked at her with fear in his eyes. His fear, however, wasn't of her, but of what she was suggesting. "Make the call. Just don't tell Daisuke, Ren, or Ran of what I've done or where I'm going. I don't want their world to be shattered by the truth of their oldest sibling being a killer."

* * *

Issei looked down at the phone, noticing the background image of the phone as he did so. The image was of Ai's latest birthday; her smile seemed much bigger and warmer than usual. Around her was her family, all but Haru and Ryuusuke being dwarfed by her height. Miu and Haru had their arms wrapped around her. Ren and Ran had to sit on Ryuusuke's shoulders to get into frame meanwhile Daisuke was caressed by Ai. Everyone had seemed so happy; even Ryuusuke seemed to be getting into it despite his soulless eyes with Ren and Ran helping him smile by lifting his cheeks. Issei looked up from the phone, seeing the contrasting present of Ai and her parents huddled together as they cried away the time they have left together.

"No, you don't deserve that," Issei began, putting the phone down on his leg. "I don't care if ya killed 20 people or even 100. You don't deserve to be imprisoned. All you were doin' was protectin' your family from a bunch'a assholes. You're probably the most kind-hearted and gentle person I will ever meet after Asia. If there is anyone I can think of who truly deserves a second chance at life, it is you," he said.

"I was taught that the ones who deserve forgiveness the most are the ones who repent the most. The fact that this affected you to the point you turned your entire personality around tells me enough about the internal pain you went through," Asia added.

"There is no perfect person. There will always be faults and regrets; but trust me on this, you are closer to perfect than most people on this planet. Like the others are saying, your guilt turned you from a ruffian to a saint. You don't deserve prison; scratch that, prison doesn't deserve you," Genshirou said.

The crying from the three humans slowly ceased. They looked up and towards their guests with a hopeful gleam in their eyes.

"You're really doing this for us?" Haru asked the Devils, to which he was answered with nods all around.

Their tear-drenched faces grew into smiles and the three collectively wiped away their tears.

"We will repay you for this. I'll be sure to see to it," Haru said.

"Thank you. Thank you. If you ever need somewhere peaceful, feel free to come by here whenever. We'll be sure to serve you meals and tend to your needs," Miu offered.

"That won't be necessary. We appreciate the offer, but you don't need to go out of your way so excessively to repay us," Rias declined on behalf of her and Sona's Peerage.

"You sure? We can afford it once our investments pay off. It doesn't have to be immediate if that's what you're worried about," Miu added.

"Well, since you put it that way. We could use some fundings for the academy's extracurricular clubs and councils," Rias said.

"Consider it done… once we do get payment for our loans, that is," Haru said.

"Just please, don't let my siblings know of this," Ai requested, warm smile restored along with her soothing voice.

That was when Issei remembered something that Motohama and Matsuda had told him after the party at Murayama's. The realization plastered an "Oh shit" look upon his face.

"What is with that face, Issei?" Ai asked, worried about how he would answer.

"Eh… Daisuke kinda… he kinda already knows," Issei said, scratching the back of his head while doing so.

"What?" Ai asked. Her eyes widened and her smile straightened out briefly. "I'm sorry, but you have to be lying to me. He hasn't scorned me whatsoever or looked upon me with disdain. He can't know."

"But he does, and he doesn't think of ya any less. My friends, Motohama and Matsuda, even told me that he holds you and the rest of his family in the highest regards he can. Now I can't say that the twins know, but he sure does and he—sure as Hell—doesn't hate ya for it," Issei said.

Ai teared up once more. This time, however, the tears were not of sorrow, but of joy. "Oh… of course Dai would think that way. If there has been any part of him that he retained throughout his life, it would be his unwavering love for his family."

Miu leaned over to Akeno and nudged her slightly to get her attention. "Like I said, he's a keeper. If you want him, get at him quickly before Souna does."

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Kitchen, 11:50 AM**

While this entire ordeal was occurring, Daisuke and Sona were kicking back and enjoying the cheesecake Sona had made with the one made by Daisuke being reserved for the others within a clear plastic container.

"I see you're quite a quick learner. First time making one of these and you not only made it presentable, but also enjoyable," Daisuke said as he happily ate a slice of the cheesecake.

"Well, I was following your instructions; so it shouldn't be a surprise," Sona remarked with a smile before taking a bite of another slice.

"Yes, that is true; but as it is with any teacher, the student must apply themself if they are to learn anything. I know that personally. I once tried to teach Ren how to cook a slice of lamb, but all he did was eat the seasonings and walk off periodically. It's hard to keep the kid's attention without the use of an animal; and you know how the equation of animal plus kitchen goes."

This earned a brief chuckle from Sona, who caught herself once again. "I apologize, Teacher. I know that isn't professional at all," Sona said, feeling embarrassed by her outburst.

"It's fine, everyone laughs. There's no shame in it whatsoever. Heh, even Ryuusuke has let one out before... at least from what he has told me," Daisuke said as he finished his slice. "Once again, splendid job on the cheesecake. I almost feel guilty taking a slice. That's why I'll leave you the rest… after one more slice. Love myself some Blueberry Skyr Cheesecake."

"You're quite a commanding force when you subdue your anxiety. You could make a career from this quite easily," Sona remarked after she finished eating her slice.

"About that..." Daisuke said before being cut off.

"I won't tell about it if that is what you are concerned with," Sona interjected.

"Thank you, President," Daisuke said with a smile.

"Not a problem, Teacher. We should regroup with the others; they're probably worried about us," Sona said, smiling as well.

* * *

 _ **That concludes the final chapter of Volume 1. I am uncertain when I will get to making Volume 2 as college and work has been kicking me in the face as of lately. I will try to be somewhat consistent with my writing, though.**_

 _ **As for the addition of "Extra Life" chapters, they will primarily be things that fit into three different criteria: character/relationship development, excessive exposition that may or may not provide much to the story, or just some random shenanigans that I decide to write.**_


	12. Volume 2:Life 0

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **Heavens Above, Hells Below, Worlds Betwixt, and Realms Beyond.**_

Within a realm of utter chaos rests a light, peering in through seemingly endless ripples in its domain as if monitoring the cosmos beyond its realm of disarray. The ripples display a plethora of worlds, no one being the same no matter how similar they seem. Through one of the ripples, a lively and happy world interconnected with two others can be seen: one of absolute paradise and one less pleasant and dryer than the previous two. The light hums in a tone that can only be described as bored, shifting from perspective to perspective like channels on a television. The light is surrounded by numerous figures of differing sizes and shape wearing the same clothing as if they were of a cult. It is approached by a figure cloaked in the garb, which was chaotic in design. It depicts a massive serpentine Dragon swallowing an orb of light whilst countless other orbs orbit it.

"My God, is the time nigh?" the figure spoke in a soft male voice as it dropped to one knee and gave a deep bow.

 **"** **Not quite, but it may as well be soon. A Vessel… I may be needing one soon,"** the light spoke, its thundering words resounding through the realm caused the figure's garb to flutter as if struck by a strong wind.

"Do you wish for me to fetch one for you, my God?" the figure asked.

 **"Yes. It would be wise to do so.** I am going to be wanting something new and exciting very soon. **I would much rather not sit in boredom when I do grow weary of one of these pastimes,"** the light spoke.

"Very well then, my God. Which realm do you wish for me to delve into?" the figure spoke as it stood up from his bow.

The light closed off countless seams, turning them into star-like lights in the void around it, until there was only one left: the one with the three interconnected worlds. The ripple floated towards the garbed figure, stopping a short distance in front of him. The figure needed no more explanation from that point on.

"Ah, I see. Rather fitting that you chose this realm for me, my God," the figure spoke.

 **"** **The current cycle of this realm has yielded a bland and unenjoyable viewing experience for me. I felt that sending you here would yield some amusing results at the least,"** the light spoke.

The figure moved towards the ripple without hesitation. Before it could manage to make its way through, the light spoke to it once more.

 **"** **I need not remind you that my Vessels are not to be confronted haphazardly,"** the light spoke, prompting the figure to turn back towards it and give yet another bow.

"Certainly, my God. I will scope out the Vessel and return to you for guidance once I have found it," the figure spoke before it stood back up again.

 **"A wise decision. Now go, my Apostle: Go and scour the realm. Leave no stone unturned, no establishment unraveled.** **If need be, ravage the heavens above, burn the hells below, shatter the worlds betwixt, and desecrate the realms beyond until the Vessel is found,"** the light thundered as the figure stepped into the seam, vanishing from one realm and into the other.

 **"** **This should entertain me in the meantime. My Apostle, you best not bore me."**


	13. Volume 2:Life 1

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.**_

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **A Breaking Discovery and... Infighting?**_

After three days of fruitless attempts at contacting the higher-ups and equally fruitless research, Sona made a breakthrough with the scouting wards that were placed in the supposed hideout of their hooded adversaries. She quickly made her way to the ORC Club House to break the news to Rias, leaving Tsubaki in charge of the council in her stead. Meanwhile, some members of the ORC conversed with Ai within the club house. Asia, Xenovia, and Yuuto were stationed at the Kasais' home to keeping watch over the twins and the parents of the Kasai family. Daisuke, being a member of the Student Council, stayed at the council headquarters. Ryuusuke was, oddly enough, nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 2:35 PM**

Within the club house, Issei, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Gasper stayed with Ai in the central-most room of the building. Rias and Akeno sat across from Ai on a couch parallel to hers with Koneko sitting to the left of Ai and Gasper sitting to her right. A table holding teacups and saucers stood between the two couches. The five took delight in tea while Issei paced around aimlessly with his hands threaded behind his head.

"So, Ai…" Issei began, stopping in his pacing and dropping his hands from his head.

"Yes, Issei," Ai responded, turning her body towards him.

"You said you were good at gamblin', right?" Issei asked.

This question irked Koneko; she quickly put down her tea and her eyes, narrowed and intense, focused on Issei. She knew that this would lead to something perverse.

"Yes, that is correct," Ai answered.

"I was thinkin', maybe you could play some strip poker," Issei suggested with an uncertain smile as his eyes drifted to the side.

"Don't," Koneko spoke sharply, putting her hand on Ai's shoulder as if she was rearing to get up and strike Issei. She kept her fierce gaze locked onto Issei.

"Yes, you should probably listen to Koneko on this one," Ai agreed with a giggle. "I'm sorry if it sounds like gloating, but you would be down to your boxers in little less than two minutes. I don't want to put you through such embarrassment."

"Wait, no I didn't mean against me!" Issei exclaimed, his relaxed posture having turned rigid and his arms raised slightly in defensive reflex.

Rias and Akeno chuckled and Koneko remained stone-faced while Gasper, who didn't know what to make of the situation, sat nervously and quietly sipped his tea. His fear of Koneko and Akeno, who were in close proximity to him, dissuaded him from even speaking.

"I meant that, maybe, you could play against some of the other girls while I watch from the background," Issei said, a mischievous smile on his face as he twirled his fingers together.

"If you want to see breasts, you don't have to use me to deceive others. If it would make you happy, you could just ask. I don't mind so long as it is just looking," Ai offered. The sudden proposition made Rias and Akeno spit up their tea. Why was she putting this offer on the table so suddenly?

"Don't tell me I'm going to have more competition. I'm still in the middle of getting Akeno off of Ise," Rias thought.

"Wait, you mean…" Issei paused in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Ai simply nodded before she reached down to one her buttons and began to undo them.

"Don't do it," Koneko warned. She gently grasped Ai's arms to dissuade her.

"Issei needs some sort of reprieve for all the flak he gets. Besides, I think of this as a thank-you for the kindness he showed me yesterday," Ai refuted, gently removing Koneko's hands from her arms.

Gasper, being both nervous and curious at once, struggled to look away. He feared being scolded, but wanted to see why Issei loves breasts so dearly; so he failed to resist temptation and peered towards Ai's chest in a not so sneaky manner.

"Sweet! I wonder how she compares to Rias and Akeno. Will she be perky or saggy?" Issei thought as Ai continued to undo her shirt, her skin overlapping the space created as she undid the buttons. "Holy shit, they look like they're 'bout to burst," he thought as a feeling of ecstasy overwhelmed him. His heart hiked up its beating.

The moments seemed to go by like hours for Issei; he wanted to savor every second. Ai began opening her black gate of a bra; but as the gates began to open, Issei felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He looked to the left and saw a terrified Gasper mid-scream before looking to the right and seeing Koneko blankly looking somewhere behind him with her fist raised as if cheering the unseen force on. Lastly, he looked towards Ai, who had begun holding her hands up to her mouth and winced in preparation for what was to come. Issei desperately tried to keep eye-contact with his reward only to be lifted upwards out of viewing range.

The ecstasy quickly turned into a mix of disappointment and anger before all feeling was replaced with pain as he was German Suplexed straight through the table with a loud crash, breaking it in half. The sudden display caused Rias and Akeno to jump back and yelp in fright. There was splintered wood, glass shards, and tea everywhere.

"Aye yai yai! What the Hell!?" Issei exclaimed as he quickly sat up and rubbed his pained head and back. He looked back, wincing in pain as he did so, at who had suplexed him.

The culprit was none other than the hobo butler, Ryuusuke, who quickly recovered into a crouching stance akin to that of a prowling jaguar.

"This guy's a fuckin' freak of nature!" Issei thought.

Koneko bore a light smile, which was rare to see from her. "I like how he thinks."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Issei yelled with plentiful anger at Ryuusuke, who still held his quadrupedal posture. Issei stood up with a steaming rage. "It was only a look; You didn't have to fuckin' suplex me! You coulda broke my damn neck doin' that!"

"First answer: I have a long history littered with violence. Second answer: I don't care. Third answer: Yes, I did. Fourth answer: I know," Ryuusuke answered in rapid succession as he quickly sprang towards Ai and frantically began readjusting Ai's bra and re-buttoning her shirt.

"Ai, could you please control your guard? He just broke our table, injured Ise, and nearly gave me and Akeno a heart attack all in the span of two seconds," Rias asked while cutting a sharp glare at Ryuusuke. "What is this guy?" she thought before peering over to a corner to discover that Gasper ran and hid in it. "Great, he scared poor Gasper into a corner," she muttered before heading towards the Dhampir.

"There was a table? I'm sorry, I didn't see that there," Ryuusuke said as he looked back at the shattered table with his usual blank expression and tone of voice. It was eerie that he wasn't showing any signs of pain after smashing him and Issei through a table.

"Oh don't pull that shit! You did that on purpose!" Issei refuted while pointing angrily at Ryuusuke.

"I have no clue what you are going on about, Dear Issei," Ryuusuke replied. He looked over to the corner where Rias was attempting to calm her Dhampir subordinate. "It seems I may have startled Dear Gasper, my apologies."

"Why are you here, Ryuu? I thought you were off to bring Ren and Ran back home by now," Ai said, somehow still keeping a light and jovial vibe. Even after he deliberately hurt her friend, Ai couldn't stand to be angry with her servant.

"Sir Ren and Madam Ran had an early release from school today. Master Haru and Mistress Miu insisted on having me check in on you and Sir Daisuke. When I walked in, I saw Dear Issei harassing you to see your breasts. That, I could not allow."

"It wasn't harassment, you pale prick! How did you get in anyway!? The doors were locked!" Issei shouted.

"To start, the ventilation system. That aside, I feel there is no need to be throwing names about, Dear Issei. Even if it wasn't harassment, I wouldn't let Madam Ai expose herself like that. It is the first step of many to becoming a prostitute," Ryuusuke refuted, inadvertently insulting Rias and her tendencies to expose herself for Issei.

"Excuse me? You best watch your tongue if you want to stay in my graces," Rias thought with a more mild anger flowing through her as she cut another disipleased glare towards Ryuusuke from across the room.

"So what!? It's her body! She does what she wants with it!" Issei argued, getting up in Ryuusuke's face as he did so.

"She won't be doing what she wants with her body if she's a prostitute, Dear Issei. This is especially so if she becomes employed by a pimp. I wish Madam Ai freedom; but in order to do so, there has to be restrictions," Ryuusuke refuted. "Also, might I ask you to lower your voice? I am right in front of you, after all."

A surge of anger rushed through Issei. He suddenly lashed out with a punch to Ryuusuke's jaw. The outburst earned a collective gasp from Rias, Akeno, and Ai while Gasper let out a full on scream and ran out of the room.

* * *

Ryuusuke's head and neck gave way to the force, but the rest of his body was mostly immobile. He promptly turned his head back to Issei, essentially passing off the punch as a slap.

"You best be thankful I'm not Sir Daisuke. He does not take getting struck kindly and would've likely retaliated rather violently." Ryuusuke said before inspecting the impact zone with some motions of his jaw and some scouting with his tongue. "Yep that will be leaving a bruise. At least I got some color to my face for a little bit; that, I will thank you for, Dear Issei,"

Ryuusuke's unfazed response caused Issei to jolt back slightly. The punch may have been restrained, but the man still took a punch from the wielder of Boosted Gear without so much as an "Ouch." It was as if pain couldn't register in him.

"You've got a good left hook, but do be aware that a single punch won't always be the deciding factor in a fight," Ryuusuke said before turning towards Ai and approaching her. "Now that I've seen your intentions, Madam Ai, I'm afraid I can't trust you here by yourself. Master Haru and Mistress Miu would be absolutely furious if you began pulling more stunts like that behind their backs. I'm going to need you to come with me while I go check on Sir Daisuke."

"Alright Ryuu," Ai conceded as she went along with Ryuusuke in his exit.

"Wait, what kind of ass-backwards shit is this? Aren't you supposed to be the master?" Issei asked, thoroughly confused by the reversal of roles.

Ai stopped in her stride before turning towards Issei. She then spoke, still jovial and light-hearted in spite of all that was going on. "Oh, that. Well, my choices get overruled if Ryuusuke is acting on behalf of my parents. While he is a servant and a bodyguard, he is also an extension of my parents' authority. They're rather lenient on most things; but some things just set them off to no end. That entire fiasco, for example, is something they most likely will tear into me for. See you later, my friends," she said before leaving with Ryuusuke.

* * *

Once the two had left the building, Rias's attention turned towards Issei. She cut an angry glare that sent chills down Issei's spine.

"Ah shit," Issei thought; he knew a scolding was imminent.

"Issei, you can't go around punching humans. You're a Devil in possession of one of the most powerful artifacts in creation; a single slap could've broke his neck. I know he was being irritating, but you have to learn to control yourself," Rias said with a stern voice and narrowed eyes.

"That's golden coming from you, President; I saw how you were looking at him. Quite vengeful," Akeno remarked with a giggle.

"Well, he did imply me being a prostitute, so there was some merit for anger; but I wasn't going to strike him if that is what you are getting at," Rias refuted with crossed arms.

"Are you certain he was referring to you? I don't recall him knowing of what goes on at Issei's house. We haven't even invited Daisuke or Ai there, so he shouldn't even know where it is." Akeno replied.

"I wouldn't be surprised. The guy's like a damn slasher villain; he knows where ya are at all times and appears from nowhere whenever he feels like it. Remember: the guy went through the vents to get to us. The vents, damn it," Issei refuted, pointing at a nearby ventilation shaft for emphasis.

"That's... actually pretty accurate. Remember how he killed that mugger when he met the Kasais? Swiftly and without remorse before continuing on with his day as if murder was normal. He's basically a domesticated serial killer. Alongside that, he always seems to appear from thin air," Akeno said before going off on a tangent. "I'm starting to feel that he may be more than human."

"Come now, Akeno. As eccentric as he may be, this is to be expected of humans. Out of every being in existence, humans have the most diverse range of personalities. That is merely how they were designed. You're just blowing him out of proportion because you're scared of him," Rias corrected Akeno while chuckling.

"He almost killed me and Issei singlehandedly. Don't you remember us telling you that? We're only lucky he didn't invest in a gun with a higher ammo count," Akeno argued.

"Even a Devil can be killed by a mortal if it lets its guard down; you two got a bit overconfident and he took advantage of it," Rias argued back.

"Well, that 'mortal' has to have some damn good aim to shoot me in the head several times in a row mid-motion, in my Scale Mail, from a distance, and in the dead of night," Issei added, earning a fierce glare from Rias that shut him up.

"Human or not, he's still a nightmare to me," Gasper chimed in, peering around the corner of another room.

"What of you, Koneko? Are you afraid of him too?" Rias asked, skeptical of the fear Ryuusuke exuded on her friends.

"Kicks ass and asks no questions. I like him," Koneko replied. Had the steel-nerved Koneko harbored any form of discomfort towards him, something had to be wrong. Rias breathed a sigh of relief in response to her answer.

"I guess it does make sense to be afraid of something that held your life in its hands at one point. While I haven't seen his marksmanship firsthand, I will believe it to be above the normal range for a human. Ryuusuke aside, you must be punished for acting so rashly: 120 spankings should be sufficient," Rias said as she stood up from the couch, staring Issei down with red magic enveloping her right hand.

Issei's face dropped to that of pure terror. Most of his body was paralyzed by the intense glare Rias was giving. "Come on, doesn't gettin' smashed through a table count for anything?"

Rias, to the dismay of Issei, shook her head in disagreement.

"All this because I wanted to see some titties. I guess I do deserve this for gettin' Ai in trouble with her parents," Issei lamented before he reluctantly got on the ground and accepted his punishment.

* * *

In the middle of Issei's punishment, Sona barged into the club house with an enthusiastic pep in her voice. "Rias, I have something imperative to-" she said before pausing to process what was going on in front of her.

"Oh, hi Sona," Akeno began before playfully remarking about her energetic vibe. "You seem happy. Did Daisuke kiss you on the cheek today?"

"Come now, Akeno: stop projecting your fantasies onto others and just go for it. With how he thinks of you now, you'll only have a chance if you make the first move," Rias remarked with a smirk.

"Miu's got you doing that too, President? I never knew my President was fond of bandwagoning: how corrupt," Akeno replied with a playful grin of her own.

Sona let out a sigh. "What did Hyoudou do this time?" she asked, trying to detract from what she viewed as childish gossip.

"Doofus punched Ryuusuke," Koneko answered.

"And he suplexed me through that table. Tell me who's more hurt here: the Embodiment of Zero Fucks Given or me?" Issei remarked while pointing at the shattered table. Rias spanked him once more, causing a yelp of pain to escape him.

"Oh, I see. That does sound like something Akahoshi would do given his fondness of the excessive. Well, I'm assuming Rias already gave Hyoudou an earful of why he shouldn't be committing rash acts like that," Sona said as she adjusted her glasses. "Anyway, I have something of utmost importance to tell Rias. The rest of you can stay since she would have to inform you eventually."

Rias backed away from Issei and returned to sitting on the couch while Issei painfully crawled over to the spot Ai previously sat in.

* * *

"Well, what is the news?" Rias asked.

"As it turns out, Quarta and Kiba were correct in their assumptions. That building was indeed the enemy's hideout. Just last night, they met up and discussed some plans," Sona answered before pulling out a notepad and flipping through the pages, quickly flipping past the cooking notes she took with Daisuke before reaching notes involving her observations.

"That is perfect. What were their plans?" Rias asked.

"Well, they planned on meeting with their leaders to discuss the state of their mission today before returning to their reconnaissance; so we don't have to concern ourselves with an assault from them yet. However, they were planning on holding a conference with us within the next few days," Sona explained, reading from the notes she took.

"Wait, a conference?" Rias repeated, not expecting such a peaceful gesture from what seemed to be otherwise hostile threats.

"Yes. I was just as puzzled as you are," Sona answered.

A conference with the enemy? The thought was an absurd one. It was then that Rias remembered something that Issei had said the day he fought the hooded figures.

"So they really didn't want to fight," Rias said.

"What do you mean by that?" Sona asked while raising an eyebrow.

"When I fought them the other day, the big dude with the maces said they weren't here to fight," Issei answered.

"Peculiar... Then why are they here?" Sona asked before raising her hand to her chin and pondered.

"It has to be something to do with the Kasai's. They seem keen on keeping an eye on them," Rias answered.

"But what could they want from mere humans?" Sona asked.

This thought got stuck in their heads. They pondered possibility after possibility, but could come up with nothing until Akeno proposed an idea.

"Maybe the Kasai family had some ties with the supernatural at some time: maybe when Miu and Haru got married? It seems kind of suspicious that two people alone created a business surpassing two massive family owned businesses. It could also tie in with Ryuusuke being a Revenant or something," Akeno suggested.

"A Revenant?" Issei repeated.

"Think of them as what humans call 'zombies', minus the habit of post-mortem cannibalization, that can never truly die. They're a glitch in The System much like Kiba's Holy Demon Sword. There is a very slim chance that, once a human dies, his or her soul is unable to pass on and is bound eternally to the corpse," Sona explained.

"That would explain the dude's pale skin and dead eyes... and inability to feel pain... and creepy vibe. Yep, he's gotta be a Revenant thing," Issei said, pausing every so often. "Sounds like he's got it good then: can't die, won't die."

"Wrong: their souls linger, but their bodies still decay. Eventually, they wither to nothing or are destroyed by fellow humans and left to an eternal damnation being merely scattered remains buried beneath the earth. He could either be a fresh Revenant or a well preserved one judging by his appearance," Sona refuted.

"Revenants basically have all of eternity to grow in power if left to linger long enough. Maybe they want Ryuusuke for that reason?" Rias suggested.

"He doesn't smell dead at all. Maybe he's just a poor, sad man," Koneko added.

"That could also be a possibility. Revenants, in the early part of their existence, are almost indiscernible from an average human," Sona agreed.

"Maybe they're those Magician dudes who summon Devils for help?" Issei suggested.

"That could be a good explanation as to how they acquired a Revenant in the first place if Ryuusuke does turn out to be one," Akeno said.

"But what of the conference? Can we even trust them?" Sona asked, now focusing her concern on the enemy.

"I'm not certain, but they don't seem to be out to kill us. Otherwise, Issei and Genshirou would've been killed by the scythe-wielding woman when they fought the other day," Rias answered.

"We should still be on guard," Koneko remarked.

"Well of course, they are still a threat; but we have to be hospitable as well to deter violence," Rias replied before turning her gaze to the shattered table. "Speaking of which, I can't stand this being here much longer," With a snap of her fingers, the table was restored to its previous state, the teacups were refilled with tea, and any shattered ceramic was reformed into its previous shape.

"What about their other allies? Were they there too?" Akeno asked.

Sona nodded. "There were four more hooded individuals spotted with our wards. However, I was not able to gain much information about them."

"And their Sacred Gear?" Akeno continued her questioning.

"Nothing yet. Me and the rest of the council—save for Daisuke, of course—have sifted through numerous volumes of encyclopedias and indexes and have not found anything. However, we should discover something soon since roughly 80% of our library has been thoroughly researched. Give us another day or two and we should have their Gears identified," Sona answered.

"Splendid," Rias replied with a smile. "And when we have that information, we will be able to adequately work around their fighting styles in case we do have to fight."

"Glad to see we're in the same mindset," Sona remarked. "I will be taking my leave to return to researching."

With that being said, Sona turned to exit the building and return to the rest of the council. Before she could even begin walking, Issei posed another question.

"What about the Kasais? Do they have any immediate plans for 'em?" Issei asked.

Sona turned partially to look Issei in the eye. She then spoke. "We are not going to hand them over if that is what you're worried about. Magicians or not, we know nothing of the hooded group's intentions; it would be unwise to let them have their way. That aside, they did not explicitly state anything about them," she said.

Issei, despite not showing his relief, felt ease in his heart.

* * *

Sona promptly left to return to her council members. Once she had left, Rias turned to look at Issei. "Now that that is out of the way, time to return to your punishment," she said as magic enveloped her right hand once again. "What were we at? 63?"

"I thought it was 52," Akeno added.

"M-Maybe it was 112?" Gasper lied.

"I say we start from zero to be sure," Koneko remarked.

"Aw man… I was hopin' she would forget about it." Issei thought. The ease in his heart was replaced with fear as he reluctantly got back down on the floor.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Student Council Headquarters, 2:35 PM**

Within one of the numerous conference rooms of the headquarters, the other members of the council along with Motohama and Matsuda, who came along with Daisuke for the event, were tasked with preparing the room for the conference between the Devils and the hooded group. Daisuke, of course, was left in the dark as to what the conference would be, only being told that he was to take no part in it. It did not take long for them to set the room up before having a conversation to pass the time until Sona returned.

* * *

Momo and Tomoe stood by one of the tables located close to the window on the far end away from the entrance and Tsubasa stood by one of the tables on the left side of the room. Tsubaki stood by the door to and from the room with Ruruko leisurely propped up against the wall to the left of Tsubaki. Genshirou and Reya sat at the table closest to the door. As for Daisuke, he paced back and forth, with his hands positioned behind his back, between Genshirou, Reya, and Tsubaki with Motohama and Matsuda standing by the wall opposite from Ruruko.

"Hey, Daisuke, I've been meaning to ask you something," Tsubasa said before she sat herself at one of the desks in the room.

"What would that be?" Daisuke responded, stopping in his stride. A few sweat drops already started their way down his face. Many an invasive question had been asked after those words. He nervously fiddled with his gloves, fearing her follow up question.

"Have you and Ryuusuke ever butted heads with each other?" Tsubasa asked. "I imagine adjusting to life with a person like him would be rather unsteady."

"Oh, him," Daisuke began before running his hand across his forehead. "No, not really. Since day one, me and him have been best mates. I reminded him of his youth and I thought of him as an older brother. The closest thing to a fight we have had has been the little self-defense training programs he recommended us do once every month."

"Wait, training? You mean that livin' weapon is teachin' you guys to fight?" Matsuda asked.

"Yeah. Something along those lines. He would pose as an assailant and would just have us wing it until either one of us were within what he would call an 'Execution Point.' Those were basically any hold or position where he could end us if he so desired. The same would apply for us when one of us had him is such a position. Oftentimes, he would be the one winning in those bouts; but he says we are learning at an astonishing rate for civilians with no prior combat training. Ren and Ran, of course, are to be exempt from these exercises until they become fifteen. Apparently, the training programs are too rigorous for young children to partake according to how he described it," Daisuke explained, his hands dropping behind his back once more.

"So he's a butler, a guardian, and a combat instructor that you don't even have to pay? Where do I sign-up to get me one of those?" Tomoe remarked playfully.

Daisuke gave a smile. While it wasn't nervous by nature, it was the only thing he felt comfortable using as a response. Nonetheless, it was a rather alien sight for the council members as they had never seen him harbor any expression that wasn't embarrassment.

"Weren't you supposed to be shy? You sure as Hell aren't acting the part as of lately," Ruruko remarked as she put a finger up to Daisuke's cheek.

"That's what I've been asking for the past few days," Motohama said. "Are you using notes again?"

"No, not at all. I'm just as surprised as you are; it usually takes me roughly two weeks before I can feel even relatively comfortable around a lady. It only took me a few days to accustom myself at least somewhat adequately; quite a milestone if I must say. Had it not been for President and my two mates here, I would likely still be a stammering mess," Daisuke said with confidence rarely seen from him. It was a little jarring after coming to know him as the nervous type.

"Is that so? What did they do to give you such confidence?" Tsubaki asked.

"Motohama and Matsude helped force me out of my comfort zone so I could learn to overcome my social anxiety. As for the President: I'm afraid me and her made a promise not to tell of what happened in the kitchen a few days ago," Daisuke answered.

This news caused unpleasant thoughts to flow through Genshirou's head: thoughts of Daisuke sweeping Sona off her feet and carrying her away as he watched. These visions stirred his emotions into the festering feeling known as envy. "No, Genshirou. Get a hold of yourself. It can't be that. President wouldn't-" Genshirou thought, trying to suppress his envy.

"Ooooooh shit!" Matsuda howled with immense enthusiasm. "My dude's finally gettin' him some!"

This resounding exclamation by Matsuda was the breaking point for Genshirou. He tried his hardest to avoid visualizing the scene, but failed. The scene played vividly in his mind, the emotions feeling all too real. The thought of a mere human having his way with the woman he held so much affection for was unbearable to him. He was filled with a burning anger, all of which was directed solely towards Daisuke.

"Speaking of which, how have things been going with you two romance-wise," Daisuke asked as he turned to face the two, looking away from Genshirou; who was experiencing a blistering envy.

While Daisuke's attention was fixated on his two non-council friends, Genshirou got up from his chair with hands in his pockets and a jovial guise.

"You would not believe it, but we actually had girls come up and **actually** **talk** to us as if we were **actual people**. We should have ourselves some girls in no time at this rate," Motohama answered.

"That is splendid. Seems like all our lives are changing for the better," Daisuke said while raising his hands to give the two high-fives.

The squeak of a shoe against the tiled floor was heard.

"Shit, watch-" Matsuda began before Daisuke turned his head to look behind him. A fist collided with his face.

The strike caused Daisuke to stumble towards the wall. After gaining his bearings, he looked behind him to find Genshirou with an expression of burning anger, teeth grit and eyes narrowed as he stared daggers into Daisuke. Adrenaline coursed through Daisuke, replacing all of the pain with rage. His face turned to that of silent anger. His eyes narrowed to his typical piercing glare, bearing a fiery glint in his amber eyes as he, too, was consumed by anger.

Daisuke, despite his own wishes, gave into an explosive rage and only cared about getting immediate payback, not caring whether Genshirou lived or died.

* * *

"Genshirou, what are you doing?" Tsubaki yelled as she neared the angry duo.

Before anyone could get close, Daisuke lunged at Genshirou with great speed and ferocity while letting out a primal yell. He tackled the Devil onto a table with his hands gripped tightly around Genshirou's throat. The two rolled around on the table until they eventually rolled off the edge, causing the back of Genshirou's head to strike the ground as they fell. This dazed him briefly, giving Daisuke the chance to reach into his pocket at pull out a pocket knife. It became obvious to the others that he was going for blood when he attempted to plunge the knife into Genshirou's throat. In the nick of time, Motohama and Matsuda managed pull Daisuke off with some aid from Tsubasa and Reya once they got him off of the ground. The rest of the council rushed towards Genshirou and did the same.

They kept pulling the two further away from each other until they had reached opposite walls. Both groups struggled to keep the two restrained. With Genshirou, the difficulty was understandable since he was a Devil. Daisuke, however relied on being nimble. He slid out from his shirt and escaped the grip of the two humans and two Devils holding him, exposing his slender and mildly toned body. With the blade of the knife in between his thumb and index finger, he threw it across the room directly at Genshirou with true aim. The knife spiraled through the air at a perfect arc trained for Genshirou's head.

"Get down!" Ruruko shouted as she pulled Genshirou down to the ground to avoid the trajectory of the knife, pulling the others down as well in the form of a chain reaction.

Immediately after they had dropped out of the path of the knife, the blade pinned itself squarely in the wall where Genshirou's head was prior. Had they not acted so swiftly, Genshirou would've been struck and likely killed. Promptly afterwards, Motohama, Matsuda, Tsubasa, and Reya regained a grip on Daisuke and forced him back to the wall.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ dude! I know you're mad, but that is too much!" Matsuda exclaimed as he put his full weight into pinning down his friend's arm.

"Genshirou, what has gotten into you?" Ruruko, too, exclaimed as she forced his back against the wall.

The two groups continued to hold their respective target until they ceased to struggle. They stared daggers at each other from across the room with Daisuke's glare looking much more imposing due to his vivid eye color.

"I treat you like a friend then you go on and woo President in less than a week right before my eyes? Do you have any idea how fucked up that is!?" Genshirou shouted.

"What are you going on about you belligerent baboon!? I have not made a single move on her!" Daisuke refuted.

"Don't play that game with me! I know you two were doing something other than cooking in the kitchen!" Genshirou shouted.

"That's what this is about? For someone who's a part of the Student Council—a group of individuals with superb intellect and ability to rationalize—you seem rather incapable of thinking past your forehead!" Daisuke shouted back, slightly pulling Motohama and Matsuda forward as he jolted in that direction.

"Says the one who hurled a fuckin' knife across the room! You could've hit one of these girls with that thing! You have no right to talk about rationality!" Genshirou remarked as he jolted slightly forward before being forced back.

"Who's the bigger fool: the one tasked with slaying the dragon or the one who decided to wake it? Bottom line: anything that could've happened would've been a byproduct of your inability to keep your hands to yourself! You're just as guilty as me in this case!" Daisuke responded.

"Well, it isn't-" Genshirou began.

"Both of you, stop this childish nonsense! Yes, Genshirou shouldn't have struck Daisuke, but Daisuke went overboard throwing caution to the wind along with a sharpened piece of steel!" Tsubaki intervened before looking towards Genshirou. "You should know as well as I do that President wouldn't do anything as rash as what you're implying the moment she is alone with another! Daisuke is right on one thing; you are both guilty here!" she said before directing her attention towards the ones holding Daisuke. "Please escort him out of here and diffuse the situation!"

With this being said, Daisuke was forced out of the room by Tsubasa, Reya, Motohama, and Matsuda. Once he had left, they kept the two divided in separate rooms and tried talking with them with Genshirou being held in the conference room and Daisuke being held in the hallway outside.

* * *

"Goddamn dude. What were you thinkin' pullin' a stunt like that?" Matsuda said as he and the other three holding Daisuke let him go and promptly blocked the door with their bodies.

"I was on your side until you pulled that knife. What on earth made you do that?" Tsubasa asked with an angry timbre in her voice.

All Daisuke did was walk over to a wall and sit himself up against it; completely silent as if contemplating his actions. He removed his gloves and tossed them to the side.

"Well, what is it?" Tsubasa added.

"Would you shut the Hell up?" Daisuke barked at Tsubasa while turning to her with an angry gaze. The vengeful flare in his eyes quickly died down to a sullen shimmer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Just… leave me to my thoughts. I need to process this," he said before getting up and walking away in silence.

"You can't just walk away from this." Reya said

"It's the only thing I can do right," Daisuke remarked as he walked.

"Well, I'm not letting you-" Tsubasa began as she tried to walk over to Daisuke.

"Leave me be, harlot!" Daisuke barked once again. Tsubasa was shocked by the verbal lashing Daisuke had thrown out towards her. Alongside the sudden shout, his usual death stare deterred Tsubasa from moving any closer. This passive man had turned vicious.

"Daisuke, buddy, are you alright? I've seen you angry before, but never this angry," Motohama asked.

"This is exactly why I prefer to avoid confrontation of any kind. I make a fool of myself everywhere I turn. If it isn't insecurity, it is volatile rage. If it isn't volatile rage, it is insecurity. I can't seem to win in any situation," Daisuke began, his voice gradually growing angrier and angrier as he spoke.

"When I'm uncomfortable around others, I make a fool of myself due to embarrassment. When I'm comfortable around others, I make a fool of myself out of rage. No matter what I do, **I am always the fool**! I was made a fool for loving Natsu, I was made a fool for attending Kuoh Academy, I was made a fool for going to that damn party at Murayama's, and I was made a damn fool for trusting that blasted barbarian Genshirou! Most of all, I was made a damn fool for believing I could ever again have a stable social life! I bid you good day!" he ranted before storming towards the exit bare-chested.

"But that's a part of having a social life. You are going to make foolish decisions; it's an unavoidable fact that applies to everyone. You just have to take those little accidents and keep pushing on. Before you know it, they will become nothing but memories," Reya refuted. "Do you need me to get you your shirt? It's pretty cold outside," she inclined, highly concerned for Daisuke's health despite his current enraged state.

"To Hell with it! Maybe the cold will freeze over my heart so I can no longer give a damn about anything!" Daisuke shouted as he continued his exit.

"Then what are you gonna wear to class tomorrow?" Matsuda asked. "I don't think they'll let ya wear mismatched clothes."

"I'll just wear that suit I wore to the party to class! I've seen someone walk around in khakis and a T-shirt on campus before; they have not a single reason to shout at me for dressing out of code if nonsense like that is free to waltz around unbound by rules and regulations! I'll come by and pick my shirt and my knife up after class!" Daisuke, again, shouted before leaving the building.

"Holy shit. Never knew the dude had this side to him," Matsuda said with a hushed voice.

"He's quite dramatic when he's angry," Tsubasa remarked with crossed arms.

"No, that wasn't anger; anger was when he first met me and Matsuda. That, right there, was pure unadulterated rage," Motohama said.

"I should go accompany him," Reya suggested.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea-" Motohama began.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Reya said before she followed Daisuke's path.

"I should probably go and follow her just in case. If he's willing to throw a knife across a room, I wouldn't be surprised if he lashed out at her for getting close," Tsubasa said before she followed behind Reya.

* * *

Once the two left the building, Motohama and Matsuda were left to themselves in the hallway.

"Man, even when in the wrong, he's still gettin' the goods," Matsuda said as he let out a sigh and put his hands behind his head.

"I would kill to have that guy's charm," Motohama lamented.

"So, how's that popularity contest between him and Yuuto goin'?"

"Still neck-and-neck. I'm rooting for Daisuke; someone has to dethrone Yuuto at some point in time,"

* * *

Meanwhile, Genshirou recieved a bit more of a scolding on his end.

"I can't believe you just pulled that. I would say you got what you deserved, being completely humiliated and all; but that does not suffice for the recklessness of your actions," Tsubaki said, cutting a sharp glare at Genshirou. "What made you do something so drastic?"

"I'm sorry, Vice-President. It's just… I don't trust him. He just got here and is already so close to the President… it's worrying to me," Genshirou answered.

"Genshirou, you don't need to be dodgy; we know you loved President the moment you entered her service, but acting like that won't win her favor," Tsubaki said.

"Was it always that obvious?" Genshirou asked, hanging his head in embarrassment.

The council members stationed by him all nodded, furthering Genshirou's embarrassment.

"President doesn't know of your romantic investment in her since **—** in spite of all of her knowledge **—** romance is rather foreign to her. She, more than likely, only respects Daisuke for his cooking ability as she has a bias towards cooks and chefs. Alongside that, Daisuke has not shown himself to be romantically aggressive; otherwise, he would've been flirting with at least one of us on a constant basis," Tsubaki explained.

"Yes, but respect quickly turns to adoration. It doesn't matter if he's romantically aggressive or not, President will do whatever she can to get what she wants; she's ambitious like that. If she wants Daisuke, then she will get him one way or another," Genshirou refuted.

"What of it? It isn't like you can fully dictate her preferences. You can only redirect her attention in hopes of her preferring you. It is the same with Daisuke; he just has the advantage of having similar interests," Tsubaki stated.

"I…Just…" Genshirou stuttered before letting out a defeated sigh. "You're right. I'll have to come to accept that sooner or later; lest I lose any chance with her. It's just that, despite all the work I put into getting her approval, all Daisuke had to do was make a gift basket to earn her respect."

"Well, you haven't lost the competition yet. President, as strict as she is, has never harbored long-term vengefulness towards us or anyone she has befriended. Sure, she'll be mad at first, but that is just how she is. If you work hard enough, she may just begin to favor you once more once Daisuke no longer impresses her," Momo said as she crouched down and put a hand on Genshirou's shoulder.

"I suppose I should try to make things right between me and him then," Genshirou conceded, rage fully dissipated.

"Very well. I'll go inform the four holding Daisuke to let him back in here when he calms down. I do recall hearing him yell quite a bit just a moment ago," Tsubaki insisted before turning to the door and seeing Motohama and Matsuda standing before them.

"Uhhh…yeah…about that…" Matsuda began as he uncomfortably shifted his head in several directions.

"What?" Tsubaki asked while narrowing her eyes.

"He… He kinda left," Matsuda answered.

"Without his shirt in this weather?" Tomoe asked.

"He really didn't care about the weather," Motohama added.

"You two: you've been around him longer than we have. What just happened?" Tsubaki asked.

"I have no clue. The angriest we've seen him was just him talkin' shit to others; I've never seen him yeet a knife like that," Matsuda answered while looking over to the knife stuck in the wall.

"Where's Reya and Tsubasa?" Genshirou asked.

"They followed behind Daisuke to… I don't know… calm him down or somethin'. They didn't say a thing about what they were gonna do," Matsuda answered.

"I see," Tsubaki said.

"Are you not even a slight bit worried about their safety out there?" Motohama inquired.

"Don't worry about it. Tsubasa's a tough girl that won't let Daisuke harm her or Reya. Unless he has another knife stashed somewhere, they shouldn't have anything to worry about," Genshirou answered as he got up out of the chair he was sitting in. "I'll go ahead and readjust the tables and clean up the mess. You guys just go and do whatever."

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Schoolyard, 2:55 PM**

After the whole ordeal, Daisuke went and sat himself upon the face of a hill. He stared out towards a group of students playing a game of tennis. He watched: envious of their social health, yet happy for them. He sighed before lying on his back and lamenting.

"No matter how much I alter my appearance… no matter how beautiful I make myself… I will never have what they have. I am a disappointment: only capable of leaving a good impression and leaving an abhorrent lasting image. Motohama… Matsuda… I appreciate all that you have done for me, but I just feel that I am not cut out for a social life—not anymore, at least. Maybe I should just… cut my ties and stick by Ai. That seems to be the only way I can be confident, being pampered by a merciful soul who could think no wrong of me. Or maybe I should just become like Ryuu and care not of anything anymore; it seems to work well for him," Daisuke monologued.

As he said this, he closed his eyes and attempted to visualize how both outcomes would go.

"Please don't do that," Reya's voice sounded from nowhere.

Daisuke's eyes jolted open and he abruptly sat up.

"It's just me, don't worry," Reya said.

"And me," Tsubasa said right after Reya.

"I thought I told you to leave me be," Daisuke stated, mildly annoyed. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable with them around.

"I know, but you just seemed so distressed. That, and I didn't want you to catch pneumonia out here," Reya said as she sat down, on her knees, beside Daisuke.

"Just hear us out; we may be able to help a little," Tsubasa said as she, too, sat beside Daisuke.

"Why on earth would you want to help me after I berated you and nearly killed your friend in a blind rage?" Daisuke asked. "If I were you, I would've let myself freeze out here."

"So, you're still upset about Natsu, huh?" Tsubasa asked, referring to the later part of Daisuke's tirade before he stormed out of the headquarters.

"Well, of course I am; it's because of her that I am stuck in this purgatory known as social ineptitude. Everyone I met after either gave me an unpleasant and unwelcoming look or belittled me for something beyond my control. Anyone who held even a slightly positive opinion of me was scared off by the train wreck you saw earlier," Daisuke answered.

"I see the problem," Reya began before turning towards him. "You've bottled up your emotions without closure or anyone to talk to; so it lingered and made you volatile and spiteful."

"It's a bit of a reach, but you're correct. I have to if I don't want to seem an idiot in front of the people I'm trying to impress," Daisuke refuted.

"Everyone is made an idiot at some point or another; there is no exception to that rule. Even President, despite her meticulous demeanor, has made many silly mistakes. Do you see us criticizing her for them?" Tsubasa said.

"Not at all," Daisuke answered.

"Then why would we criticize you for them?" Tsubasa followed up, turning onto her side to face Daisuke.

"Well, she is an established accomplice of yours and is your superior. I'm just some random pile of social awkwardness that just showed up about a week ago," Daisuke answered.

"Well, that is a point," Tsubasa conceded. "But not what I was going for. Flaws are what makes a person a person. You are trying your best to be perfect; yet have failed in that since the beginning and decided to punish yourself for every failure. I appreciate you trying your best to gain our approval; but that isn't how you hold a social life. You're doing it all wrong."

"Then what do I do? I would greatly like to know," Daisuke asked.

"To start…" Reya began before putting a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "Maybe loosen up a little: you try to act serious far too often for it to be sustainable and beat yourself up whenever you lose your composure. Everyone has moments where they act unlike themselves and give into emotion, so please stop belittling yourself for having a personality."

"Yeah, and maybe try not to worry as much about how we think of you. We aren't going to analyze every step you make and hate you for it. Take Issei for example: he's loud, perverted, short-tempered, and dim-witted. Despite those flaws, we look past them and see the good in him," Tsubasa added.

"You think others are always looking for the bad in you when it isn't always true. Even then, most of those who try to bring you down don't have what you have. You're witty, a good cook, rather attractive, and a protective friend and sibling despite your shyness—which to some is rather endearing—and your emotional imbalances—which can be helped if you just let us," Reya said.

A tear welled up in Daisuke's eye. "Is that so?" he asked.

The two Devils nodded their heads. Daisuke broke his otherwise stoic guise and fell to tears. Reya and Tsubasa both hugged him to comfort him and, to their surprise, he didn't tense up like he usually would. He fully accepted their approach.

"I don't expect you to forgive Genshirou, but at least know that you don't need to hide how you feel anymore," Tsubasa said.

"We'll help you through this like how Motohama and Matsuda helped break your overbearing timidity. You just have to give us the same leverage you gave them and we'll help wash away all those years of strife you've kept contained," Reya added.

The two felt an arm wrap around them. They two were shocked; the fact that Daisuke would willingly touch a girl without having a panic attack was a rather touching development. Then came a voice.

"Hugs are nice, aren't they?" a familiar, empty voice said.

* * *

The two Devils looked behind them; what lied behind them made them leap back and let out a shriek. The thing that snuck up on them was Ryuusuke, who was on a role with surprise visits today. As it turns out, those were his arms wrapping around the three.

"Oh, was this just a you-and-Sir Daisuke thing? My bad, I guess," Ryuusuke said as he shrugged.

Behind Ryuusuke was Ai, who was smiling even wider than usual.

Ai walked up towards the Devils "Our family tree has quite a history with emotional problems; Dai is probably the most afflicted we've had in a while. I was afraid of telling you about how bad off he can be, so I decided not to talk about it. That was so sweet of you to lend him a hand. I cannot thank you enough for this," she said before kneeling down and giving the Devils a hug of her own.

"Where's Sir Daisuke's shirt?" Ryuusuke asked as he pointed towards the shirtless Daisuke.

"Oh, that. Well, it is a funny story-" Reya began.

"I got a bit of food on it and needed it cleaned. The Vice-President offered to clean it for me, so I decided to walk out and get some fresh air," Daisuke lied. Fortunately for Genshirou, he had failed to leave any visual evidence of striking Daisuke, thus allowing Daisuke to get away with the lie.

"But why walk around in this weather?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Just felt a little overheated and needed to cool myself," Daisuke lied once again.

"Checks out with me. Nonetheless, I must request that you not do this ever again; pneumonia is a rather unpleasant affliction," Ryuusuke said as he helped Daisuke up off the ground. "Here, take mine at least until you get back home," he said as he removed his own shirt.

The view underneath was a drastic contrast to Daisuke's. While Daisuke looked fairly appealing, Ryuusuke's body was not a pleasant sight to look at. There lied numerous scars and burns littered across Ryuusuke's body: some big, some small, some fresh, some old. His body was lean, toned, hairless, and just as pale as his face. This unnerved both Devils greatly.

"What… what happened to him?" Reya asked, trying to refrain from looking at his train wreck of a body.

"That is nothing of your concern, Dear Reya," Ryuusuke answered.

"I know homeless people have it rough, but this is ridiculous," Tsubasa thought as she, too, attempted to look away from Ryuusuke's mangled body.

"Thank you, Ryuu," Daisuke said as he put on the shirt Ryuusuke had lent him. It fit rather loosely considering the size difference between the two. His hands couldn't even exit the sleeves without them being rolled up.

"Anyway, are you ready to go, Sir Daisuke?" Ryuusuke asked, completely unfazed by the cold and now bearing the bruise Issei gave unto him when he punched him.

"Where did this come from?" Daisuke said as he rubbed the bruise.

"Dear Issei struck me out of rage," Ryuusuke said. "To be fair, I may have deserved it after suplexing him through a table I may or may not have noticed was there."

"What the Hell is this guy?" Tsubasa thought in disbelief.

"Goodness, Ryuu," Daisuke muttered as if it was the norm for him. "Anyway, I'll be heading home after talking to these ladies a little longer. Do go ahead and head home, I'm sure you have more important things to do than linger around and wait for me,"

Ryuusuke bowed. "For once, you are right in that regard. Madam Ai had transgressed on one of Master Haru's and Mistress Mui's rules and thus needed to be brought back home," he replied before turning to leave.

"Very well then. I wish you the best of luck dealing with mother and father, Ai." Daisuke said.

"Thank you, Dai. See you later." Ai said before Ryuusuke turned and walked away, Ai following behind him.

* * *

Once they had left, Reya and Tsubasa walked up to Daisuke's side.

"Does this mean you have forgiven Genshirou?" Reya asked.

"Not exactly," Daisuke answered.

"Then why did you lie for him?" Tsubasa asked.

"I wouldn't wish Ryuu's ire upon even my most hated enemy."

* * *

 _ **Starting off Volume 2 with a little bit of chaos. It doesn't end here, though.**_

 _ **I bounced back to this faster than I had anticipated; but don't be surprised if I become inactive for a time much like in the middle of Volume 1.**_

 _ **I was originally planning on making this chapter go an entirely different direction along with the whole Volume; but decided against it as it would've been off-putting for some to read.**_

 _ **Once again, feel free to criticize any chapter you feel is flawed. I won't bite.**_

 _ **I feel that it may be necessary to say. I'm going to be taking some time to look over my story and refine the chapters a tad so that they are of better quality overall (hopefully). Sorry in advance.**_


	14. Volume 2:Life 2

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.**_**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **Punishment** **and Playtime.**_

Sona, having concluded her meeting with Rias, returned to her council to tell of the plan of action. When she got there, however, she was greeted to a story of man versus Devil. Disappointed by the actions of both Genshirou and Daisuke, she called them in for a meeting within the room where the fight broke out.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Student Council Headquarters, 3:** **3** **0 PM**

Three figures sat at one table: Genshirou on one end, Daisuke on the other, and Sona in the middle. Reya, Tsubasa, and Ruruko stood by Daisuke while Tomoe, Tsubaki, and Momo stood by Genshirou.

"From what I've been told, a conflict broke out between you two while I was gone that almost resulted in the expiration of a life," Sona said with crossed arms and an angry look on her face. She looked at Genshirou with a sharpened glare, then at Daisuke with the same coldness in her eyes. "Would either of you care to elaborate?"

Genshirou got ready to speak. Willing to fully accept his actions, he wanted to get his scolding over with. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Genshirou got a tad defensive over your safety. He said something about not trusting me alone with you and wanted to make it clear that he wasn't afraid of dirtying his hands on your behalf," Daisuke explained before Genshirou could even get a word out. He glared at Genshirou with a displeased look in his eyes. Though he didn't say it, his face alone showed enough of the contempt he felt towards the Devil.

"Is that correct, Saji?" Sona asked, looking towards Genshirou.

"Yes, President," Genshirou answered with a nod. "I was worried that he, being the newest member, would try to overstep his boundaries. As it turns out, I was too quick to judge."

"Very well then, I will get back to you," Sona said before turning to look at Daisuke. "While I expect you to make errors, what you did was beyond reckless. What were you thinking when you threw that knife across the room?" she spoke sternly.

"He is emotionally volatile, President," Reya said on Daisuke's behalf. "He has years upon years of pent up aggression, so he is prone to violent fits of rage. That being said, it shouldn't be an excuse to behave the way he did."

Daisuke hung his head low to avoid eye contact with others.

"Is that correct?" Sona asked.

"Yes, President," Daisuke answered, head still low.

"Well, what's important now is that no one died," Sona said as her arms dropped to the table, her scowl still present. "However, we're going to have to do something about that volatility of yours. After that display, I'm gravely concerned about what may happen if you explode like that again."

"I and Reya offered to help him out. If you were to be so generous as to give him a second chance, we can ensure this won't happen again," Tsubasa said.

"You're going to provide him emotional coaching, I assume?" Sona spoke, looking towards Tsubasa.

"Yes, President," Tsubasa said with a nod.

"I'll approve of this. I would recommend keeping these two separated for a while unless they are supervised, which goes hand in hand with a job I need done," Sona said before signaling to Tsubasa to retrieve something from another room. "Daisuke, you will go into town and pass out fliers for council services until 8:00 PM effective as soon as Yura returns with them. While you are gone, we'll deal with Saji's punishment."

Tsubasa reentered the room with a large stack of paper that was thick enough for her to rest her breasts on as she carried them to the table.

"I don't expect you to get through all of them within the allotted time; but I do expect a fair portion of them to be gone by the time you get back," Sona said.

Daisuke, without hesitation or reluctance, carefully picked up the papers and made his way out of the room with silence sealing his mouth.

* * *

With the only human in the room gone, the council no longer needed to keep a filter on what they said. Sona's eyes darted to Genshirou, who shirked away from looking at her in response.

Sona sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What is it with our Pawns today? First Hyoudou punches Akahoshi and now Saji goes and strikes Daisuke," she muttered before she lowered her hand and adopted a displeased expression. "I don't know what to be more disappointed by: you being overwhelmed by a human or the fact that you actually struck one while being completely aware of the massive power gap between Devils and average humans."

"My sincerest apologies, President," Genshirou said, still avoiding Sona's gaze.

"Before we begin with Genshirou, I have important news to tell all of you. The enemy is planning on holding a meeting with us some time within the next few days. This gives us time to finish up our research on their Sacred Gears," Sona said before turning her gaze towards Tsubasa and Reya. "Since you two seem keen on aiding Daisuke, I will allow you to accompany him during his punishment to see if you can gain some ground with him. The rest of us, save for Saji, will take to research; Saji will reorganize our collection of tomes and encyclopedias by name and series as punishment."

Genshirou's face seemed to drain itself of all color. He would have to meticulously sort well over one-thousand tomes on his own. "Yet that Kasai just has to hand out papers for almost killing me, that's a little unfair," he thought.

"Should we go now, President?" Tsubasa asked.

"If you wish to. I would appreciate you remaining here to help us research for at least an hour, though," Sona answered.

"Yes, President," Tsubasa and Reya said in unison with a nod.

* * *

Tsubasa joined her fellow council members at a table to begin research immediately. Reya, however, approached Sona and leaned in close to her ear.

"I've been thinking about this for a little bit, President; with how quick Daisuke seems to be on his feet and how he was able to handle Genshirou, don't you think he would make a decent Knight?" Reya whispered.

"While he may be agile, I think it would be rather detrimental to have a Knight who is afraid of women. That can make situations more complicated than they need to be. That, and I'm not certain if he has any notable combat prowess; the feat against Genshirou may have just been a fluke. The only possibilities of him becoming my second Knight is if he were to forgo his cowardice towards women or if he were to find himself in a predicament in which his life depended on such intervention," Sona whispered back.

"Fair enough, President," Reya said before joining with her council mates in research.

* * *

 **Kuoh Park,** **5:30 PM**

Having done their share of research, Tsubasa and Reya left to meet back up with Daisuke. They searched several locations to no avail. After asking around town, they received word of an amber-eyed prince passing out papers in the local park. No though went into forming an answer as to where he went. Once at the park, the two headed towards the lake. When they found Daisuke, he was handing out some fliers to a group of four girls. They approached the man, not drawing his attention to them until the sounds of their steps crunching the grass below fell within earshot.

"Hey Daisuke," Reya said.

"Hello to the both of you," Daisuke responded as he handed a flier to one of the girls in the group.

Tsubasa took immediate notice of the pile of paper, which was reduced to roughly half its original thickness. "Already halfway done handing out those fliers, I see," she said with tones of surprise in her voice.

"Yes. You should've seen the horde that was here thirty minutes ago," Daisuke said while handing a flier to the last girl in the group before they walked off, gossiping and giggling while looking back towards the man.

"I wouldn't be surprised with the way you look," Tsubasa said as she propped herself up against a tree by Daisuke.

"That aside, what are you two doing here?" Daisuke asked.

"We're here to help out with passing out fliers and to see if we can get some headway with getting some of those emotions out of you," Reya said as she picked up a chunk of the pile Daisuke was holding.

"Fair enough," Daisuke said. He blushed a fair bit remembering what happened a few hours ago. "I just want to thank you for putting up with me; this must be trying for your patience."

"No problem. Everyone needs help every so often," Tsubasa said before taking a chunk of the pile as well. "Oh, and don't worry about the crying part. We won't tell anyone about that."

"So, how's Genshirou doing?" Daisuke asked.

"You got off easy; he has to sort the entire Kuoh Academy library as a punishment," Reya answered.

"I wouldn't be quick to say my job is easy either. Remember, I'm a nervous wreck when confronted by ladies, and that crowd I told you about consisted mostly of them," Daisuke replied.

"You're still nervous?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm accustomed to you two, the rest of the council, some of the ORC, and my siblings when it comes to ladies," Daisuke answered.

* * *

As the three conversed, a group of familiar faces consisting of three men and one tanned woman walked by them. The woman seemed to notice a familiar face in the group and rushed over to them.

"Hey, it's you again," said Gekkou, wearing a white button-up shirt that exposed a fair bit of cleavage and a pair of jeans torn at the knees.

"A friend of yours?" Tsubasa asked, shooting a brow-raised glare and playful smirk at Daisuke for a brief moment.

"Well, we went to a party together. Not exactly sure if that constitutes as such," Daisuke answered before looking back towards Gekkou. "Are the others with you?"

"Yep, they're over there," Gekkou said before pointing to the left.

The three looked towards where she was pointing. They found the tall and grim Akashi wearing the same attire as from the party, but with an accompanying black hoodie covering his head and most of his hair. To his left stood the short and stern Chikaya, who wore the attire he wore at the party, but with the addition of a camouflage vest. Trailing behind them, his nose in a book yet again, was the scholarly Chihaku donning a blue long-sleeved shirt that was tucked into a pair of khakis.

"Odd chance meeting you here," Chikaya said before turning his naturally stern eyes towards Tsubasa and Reya. "I see you've gotten better with women since we last met."

"Hello there, I'm Reya Kusaka and she is Tsubasa Yura," Reya said.

"Chikaya Moto," Chikaya said before pointing to the two men behind him with one hand and Gekkou with the other. "The lanky pale guy is Akashi Himura, the one with the book is Chihaku Chiyonosuke, and she is Gekkou Hayashi."

"It's nice to meet the four of you," Reya said.

"So, how've things been since we last seen each other?" Gekkou asked.

"Splendid. Motohama and Matsuda are now on good terms with plentiful ladies and I got accepted into the Kuoh Academy Student Council," Daisuke answered.

"Leornere Council?" Chihaku said, pulling his face from his book and closing it. "What a prestigious lodging to be. I remember mine tid as a council member. I begun base and toiled mine way to become president myself. Hast they been weorcing thou well?"

"In other words, have they been working you well?" Chikaya repeated. "Just had to explain that so he wouldn't have to repeat himself."

"Yes, they have been. In fact, I've been tasked with handing out these fliers," Daisuke said

"He's also the Student Council President's cooking instructor," Reya said.

"A craftsman of the culinary arts? Thou healden many a surprise," Chihaku said.

"You're a great dancer and a cook? Damn dude, your future wife is gonna love you," Gekkou said, throwing her arm around Daisuke's shoulder.

"Wait, dancing?" Tsubasa repeated.

"Yeah, this dude knows how to do some classical stuff," Gekkou answered.

"I know that style wasn't fit for a house party, but ballroom dancing was the only style taught to me," Daisuke said with a slight blush. "Would you four be interested in one of these fliers?" he asked in an attempt at derailing the conversation.

"Verily," Chihaku answered as he took the flier.

"I don't see why not. Might have something interesting to say," Chikaya said as he removed a flier from Reya's pile. "By the way, don't take my pissed expression as me having a shit mood. This is just my natural look, just felt the need to clear that up. Getting kind of tired of people walking on eggshells around me."

"It's fine; it's something you can't really help. We've seen worse, to be honest," Tsubasa replied.

"Like what?" Chikaya asked.

"Sometimes the least expressive faces can be the most terrifying. Let's just leave it at that, please," Reya answered.

"There ya go talkin' up a storm again. What's with you as of lately?" Gekkou asked, shooting a cheeky glare at Chikaya as she took a flier from Tsubasa.

"Just getting some disclaimers and introductions out of the way since you seemed a little preoccupied," Chikaya answered, his stern look unchanging.

Akashi approached Reya and stuck out a hand. He waited for a flier to be handed to him.

"O-Oh, hi Akashi," Reya said as she looked up to the grim man's face only to find an eerie grin with dark shades over his eyes. She was sure it was just a friendly smile, but it seemed ominous nonetheless.

"Don't expect the big guy to talk. He's one of those silent types of people," Gekkou said.

"I see," Reya said as she reluctantly grabbed a flier from her pile. She couldn't force herself to outstretch her arm towards the unnerving man.

"Don't be scared either, he don't bite. Dude may look scary, but he won't hurt ya," Gekkou said.

Reya carefully handed Akashi a flier, retracting her arm the moment the paper left her hand. He held the paper close to his face and read without uttering even a single word.

"You seem to be rather active," Tsubasa said, taking note of Gekkou's fairly muscular build.

"I've always been an energetic gal. Gotta get some of it out someway," Gekkou said.

"It's just nice to see I'm not the only one who isn't a girly-girl in this town," Tsubasa said.

"Cool, you wanna go liftin' sometime?" Gekkou asked.

"Eh, I rather exercise in the comfort of my own home. I'd probably break a guy's arm for getting too handsy with me in a gym," Tsubasa declined in an annoyed tone with her hands on her hips.

"That's fair. Guys are always trynna grab at me; then Akashi steps in and scares them off," Gekkou said as she began reading her flier.

"So... is he your boyfriend?" Reya asked, tilting her head towards Akashi.

Gekkou didn't hear; she was too invested in reading the flier.

"No, she's single. Though, it would be easy to assume that any of us were with how much time we spend together. Chihaku helps with intellectual work and similar shit, Akashi is basically the group bodyguard, and I just try to keep Gekkou out of harm's way. She has a nact for doing dangerous shit," Chikaya answered.

"That aside, how have you four been doing?" Daisuke asked.

"Nothin' much, really," Gekkou answered.

"I see," Daisuke said.

"Hey, you gals mind if we stay around for a little?" Gekkou asked, turning to look at Tsubasa and Reya.

"I don't see why you can't," Reya answered.

"Cool," Gekkou replied. "But first..." she said before abruptly removing the pile of paper from Daisuke's hands and placing them in the arms of Chikaya.

"The fuck?" Chikaya exclaimed as Gekkou forcefully placed the papers in his hands, causing him to lose balance and fall on his rear. "Dick move..."

Gekkou grasped both of Daisuke's hands and raised one up and away from the two while placing the other on her hip and holding it in position.

"You thought you were slick divertin' the convo, didn't ya?" Gekkou asked before turning her head towards Reya and Tsubasa. "You gals have to see this."

"Gekkou, please, I don't think I can do that again," Daisuke said, his face now bright red.

"Oh come on, it should be easier to dance here; there ain't as many people watchin' ya," Gekkou said before she tightened her grip and gave a smug grin. "Besides, I ain't lettin' ya go until ya do it."

Daisuke turned his eyes towards Reya and Tsubasa. "Please don't laugh," he said before sharply breathing in and closing his eyes. With this, he danced.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence, 7:10 PM**

Playing the part as guests, Yuuto, Xenovia, and Asia stayed with Miu, Haru, Ren, and Ran Kasai at the Kasais' as instructed by Rias. The three Devils sat on a couch in the living room while Haru and Miu sat on chairs overlooking their twin children. Everyone had a cup of tea placed on a table for them. Ai was to sit in her room for her breaking the rules her parents had set for her. As for Ryuusuke, he promptly disappeared after delivering Ai.

"I've been hearing around town that you and Dai have a sort of popularity war going on," Miu remarked to her blonde male guest as she sipped her tea.

"Oh, that," Yuuto said as he cracked an embarrassed grin. "I'm sorry about that. You see, I have a following that will do borderline anything on my behalf."

"So you're kinda like a celebrity here?" Haru asked.

"That seems to be what a lot of girls think," Yuuto said before taking a sip of his tea.

"You afraid of my boy taking your crown?" Haru asked with a playful grin. Such a look from a man of his stature made it seem more sinister than playful, sending a brief chill down Yuuto's back.

"Honestly, I'm happy to be having some competition. He's given me more free time than I know what to do with," Yuuto answered, playing off the slight fear he felt from Haru's grin.

"Ai's been blowing up in popularity as well," Xenovia added before sipping her tea. "There used to be only two queens of Kuoh, now there are loads of men oggling her and loads of women envying her."

"Is that so?" Haru asked with a stern face and a slightly aggressive tone. "I might need to accompany her to her trips to school from now on. I need to make sure those boys and girls know who they're messing with if they hurt her."

"Don't you think Daisuke has that under control?" Yuuto asked.

"As much as I love my son, I don't think anyone is going to be afraid of him looking the way he does," Haru answered.

"You obviously haven't seen him angry," Xenovia remarked. "His amber eyes make for quite an intimidation tool."

"I haven't since he was a young boy. Has it really changed that much?" Haru asked, his expression now lifted to a curious one.

"It would seem so. Apparently, Issei described it as being a rabbit in the sights of a falcon," Yuuto answered.

"See, dear, I told you he has my eyes," Miu remarked with a giggle.

"You got a mean death stare too?" Yuuto asked.

"You have no idea," Haru said with a heavily unnerved expression. It had to be bad to have a man like him bear such a face.

"Speaking of eyes," Asia began, breaking her silence. "Why does he and Ran have amber eyes when neither of you do?"

"Funnily enough, that comes from my side of the family. Roughly one out of every ten members in my bloodline happens to have amber eyes. That's why my side was known as the 'Burning Eyes Family' when I was a kid," Haru explained as he scratched his head. "I'm going to go make a meal, you guys want anything?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine," Yuuto said.

"I've already ate," Xenovia said.

"I could probably go with a burger if it is fine with you," Asia said.

"Me too," Ran said.

"Me three," Ren said

"Three burgers it is then. Be back in a little bit," Haru said before heading into the kitchen, grabbing an apron hanging by the doorway before turning out of view.

Ran approached Asia nervously, clutching a pillow in her arms. She sat down in from of the former priestess and looked at her with an uncertain gaze.

"Miss Argento, you seem nice," Ran spoke. "Want to play a game?"

"Certainly," Asia answered with a gentle smile. "What game do you have in mind?"

"Be right back," Ran said, dropping the pillow before she got up and went up some stairs around the corner, most likely leading to her room. In short time, she came back with a large wooden 19x19 grid board and a bag of numerous wood pieces with Japanese Kanji written on both the front and back of the observable pieces. The pieces were seemingly divided into two different color sets: one set with a red side and a black side on each piece with the other set bearing a blue side and a white side on each piece.

"What about Maka Dai Dai Shogi?" Ran asked, seemingly hiding behind the board.

"I don't mind, but you might need to explain to me how this game works," Asia said, slightly intimidated by the size of the board and amount of pieces in the bag.

"Think of it as a more complicated game of Chess. I'll show you the setup and explain as we go along," Ran said as she put the board on the ground and spilled out the pieces on the floor. She sorted through them and separated the sets.

"Isn't that just the sweetest thing?" Miu asked with a large smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Asia asked.

"You probably already know this, but Ran is rather antisocial. The fact that she is wanting to play one of her favorite board games with you means she really trusts you," Miu answered.

"She's always smiling and is so much like Ai. I feel safe around her. The others don't smile as much; I can't read them as well," Ran said as she prepared the board. "I'm giving you the white and blue pieces since they usually go first."

* * *

"Hey, Xeno," Ren said, tugging on Xenovia's sleeve. "Since Ran's playing a game with your friend, do you want to play?"

"You want to play a board game too?" Xenovia asked.

"I don't like board games. I have to sit down for so long, I fall asleep," Ren said. "How about Hide and Seek?"

"Alright, I'll play," Xenovia answered. "Do you want to be the seeker, or will I be searching?"

"Your choice: but I'll warn you, you can't hide from me," Ren said as he giddily hopped in place.

"I'll take you up on that then, I'll hide," Xenovia said.

A giggle escaped Miu. "Good luck. You're going to need it," she said with proud undertones in her voice.

"Alright, I'll count to one-hundred," Ren said before running over to a corner and planting his head against it. "You can hide outside, but don't go too far."

Xenovia promptly went upstairs to find a hiding place.

"I hope you don't feel left out, Yuuto," Miu said.

"It's no problem; I feel that playing a game with such a cheerful kid might lighten Xenovia's spirits. Also, please call me Kiba," Kiba responded.

"Very well then," Miu said before glancing over to her youngest son in the corner. "Ai and Dai did a good job imprinting on them, didn't they?"

"I would agree so," Kiba answered with a smile, glancing over to Ren as well.

* * *

"You caught my bishop with your lion, you can either promote the lion to a furious fiend or keep it as is," Ren said.

"So that's why they're double sided," Asia said while flipping her piece over.

"Most are," Ran said before picking up one of her pieces in one of the front rows. "Some can't promote, like the dragon king piece," she said, turning her piece over to show a blank side before putting back down. "Since you promoted your lion, it can move to any space within a one space radius two times in one turn along with three spaces horizontally, vertically, and diagonally so long as there is no piece blocking it."

"This makes things even more confusing," Asia said as sweat ran down her forehead. "How did you learn to play this?"

"Ryuu," Ran answered. "He played this a lot in the past. He was happier then," she said before placing a piece over one of Asia's. "Pawn takes old monkey. Promoting to gold general."

"Happier?" Asia repeated.

"He said something about a daughter who used to play this game with him. He taught me because I reminded him of her," Ran said.

"What happened to them?" Asia asked.

"Didn't say," Ran responded.

"Does he ever cry over it?" Asia asked. "Does he know it's okay to cry when he's sad?"

"I've never seen him cry. When he isn't cleaning the house and watching over us, he sits in his handmade shed out back. Ren used to hear clicking from the shed every morning when we first met him, but he never heard it again after the first month," Ran answered. "It's your turn."

"My bad, just got a little lost in thought," Asia said. "This family must be the last thing holding him together," she thought, moving another piece on the board.

* * *

"Ready or, not here I come!" Ren shouted before dashing over to where Xenovia once stood. He hunched himself and looked closely at the ground. "So her shoes have that pattern... gotta keep an eye out for footprints like those."

"He's searching for footprints?" Yuuto asked.

"Yes. Thing is, he is very good at tracking. Had he not had a strong love for animals, he would make an excellent hunter," Miu answered.

"Isn't that kind of like cheating?" Yuuto asked with a slight chuckle.

"Some call it cheating, some call it ingenuity. He doesn't even need to use footprints to find someone, though; he just finds it to be more fun," Miu answered.

Ren followed the tracks up the stairs and down through a hallway. "The tracks stop here, which means..." he said as he looked up. Above his head was a hatch into the attic with the cord hanging just within his reach.

"Clever girl, but not clever enough," Ren said with a grin before grasping the cord and lowering the hatch.

He went into the attic with a triumphant "Hah" only to find it empty. He prowled around the attic, searching for clues leading to Xenovia's location in the dim area. He spotted a slightly cracked window leading to the roof.

* * *

Xenovia sat on the far end of the roof, overlooking the view around the house. It was peaceful, away from the cluttered confines of Kuoh's streets, yet not fully isolated from society; it was just the right balance. The area was flourishing with plant and animal life. Some woods lied behind the house and a moderate sized front lawn separated the house from the road into town. On the other side of the road lied a vast and open field that seemed lively despite the dwindling light. The breeze was a comforting warmth on her face as she overlooked the setting sun.

"This is... nice. It's not often I get to sit and marvel at God's creation as of lately," Xenovia said, ignoring the slight burn in her mouth from speaking the biblical God's name. "And to think, this is a daily sight for these people," she said, a slight smile forming on her face before she briefly remembered why she was up here in the first place.

"Kids are so odd. They overestimate themselves so much, it's actually kind of admirable," Xenovia said with a slight giggle. "Maybe I'll be lucky enough to raise a child in such a peaceful place."

"Found you!" shouted Ren, causing Xenovia to jump.

"What? How, did you find me so quickly?" Xenovia asked, shocked by the child's efficiency.

"Footprints and an open window," Ren answered as he sat down beside Xenovia.

"You must have good eyes then," Xenovia said.

"Yep," Ren replied, looking out into the field on the other side of the road. "Nature's pretty, isn't it?"

"Sure is. Much better than sitting in town with the same gray concrete and the same style houses all lined up," Xenovia answered.

"I like the town too, but that could be because I've never lived in town. It gets kinda lonely being out here all of the time. All the same people and maybe some new ones drive by; but they never stop to say 'hi.' You also see some cool things in town that you'll never see out in the wild like a pretty fountain and colorful buildings," Ren said, swinging his legs back and forth.

"You don't find it bland and colorless?" Xenovia asked.

"Nope. Just because something is gray doesn't mean it is colorless; gray is a color, silly. You'll only see gray if you keep looking at the roads and sidewalks. Sometimes, you just have to look at everything around you really good to find the beauty in it," Ren answered.

"Which do you prefer then, the town or the wilderness?" Xenovia asked, turning her head towards the boy.

"I don't know. I really like both. The town is just the wild for humans and the wild is a town for animals and plants. They're both home to something new and pretty, and I find that amazing. I don't see why people hate living in town. Sure it can be crowded, but think about the life of the insects in that field; their home is crowded too, but they don't complain because it's their home," Ren said.

"But what if you don't like your home?" Xenovia asked.

"Then you're not where you should be. Home is where you feel happiest at, where you feel safest at. If you don't like it, then it might not be your home. Birds fly to different trees because they know they aren't home," Ren answered.

"I think I get what you're getting at, kid," Xenovia said as she lied back against the roof of the house. "You're saying one's home isn't just a building or some tree, it's what you want it to be."

"Something like that, I think," Ren replied.

"You know, I might be able to find my home here. Maybe I'll move in beside you guys one day so you won't be so lonely," Xenovia said, her slight smile now more prominent.

"I did it! I knew I could make you smile!" Ren yelled with a joyful giggle.

"Kids are so odd," Xenovia thought, smile still withstanding.

"Burgers are ready! Get 'em while they're still hot!" Haru's voice thundered from inside the building.

"Ooh, food!" Ren exclaimed as he jumped up and headed towards the window into the attic. He turned towards Xenovia, who was still sitting on the roof. "You coming?"

"I'll be down in a little. I just want to admire the view a little longer," Xenovia answered.

* * *

Ren ran back down into the house to eat, leaving Xenovia alone on the rooftop as the sun sank into the horizon.

"Quite a touching scene there. Had I not known any better, I would say you have a soft spot for children," a voice spoke.

Xenovia sat up abruptly and turned to look towards the source of the voice.

To her right was Akeno, sitting with her legs bunched up against her chest and embraced by her arms. She faced towards the field, only allowing the left side of her face to be seen.

"Rias sent me to tell you that we and the Student Council will be meeting in the club house tomorrow at 11:00 AM. She has some important news to tell us about the meeting with our enemy. Do pass that on to Asia and Yuuto," Akeno said.

"Any other details?" Xenovia asked, her smile now turned to a stern gaze.

"I can only say the location, no extra details," Akeno said, not even turning her face to look at Xenovia. "We wouldn't want the enemy to hear anything important, wouldn't we?

"So that is all?" Xenovia asked.

"Yep," Akeno answered "Sorry if this was a little abrupt, but I can't be sticking around. Rias needed me to hurry with the message so I could run some other errands for her," she said before standing up and turning her back to Xenovia. She walked towards the edge and jumped off.

Xenovia looked over the edge only to find her gone. "She seemed... oddly serious; it must've been of utmost importance to get her this wound up," she thought before deciding to head back into the house.

When Xenovia returned, she donned her usual serious demeanor. Asia, Ren, and Ran ate their food while Haru stayed in the kitchen to eat his. Miu and Yuuto still sat at the couch, conversing.

* * *

"Drunken elephant takes king. Promoting to prince," Ran said before biting into her burger.

"I guess I lose, huh?" Asia said, smiling despite her defeat.

Ran swallowed her food. "Not yet. You still have a prince. I have to catch him too. Once the king is down, the prince becomes the target if he's there," she said as she flipped her piece.

"I've been meaning to ask, why are you so nervous?" Asia asked with a gentle smile. "Did someone hurt you like in Daisuke's case?"

"No," Ran said blankly. "I read a book over history from the library in town. People kill, exploit, trick, and hate each other all the time. There are so many bad things people have done to others. I just can't trust anyone anymore."

"So you lost your innocence?" Asia asked, her smile dropped to a sorrowful frown.

"That's what I've been told. I'm sorry for not liking your friends, Miss Argento; but after what I read, I'm afraid of what they would do to me and my family," Ran answered before looking up to see Asia's saddened expression. "Please don't be sad, everyone has to learn at some point."

"Yes, I know; but nothing is sadder to me than hearing that a sweet child lost its innocence. I've tried to hold onto mine for as long as I could because I have hope deep down in my heart that people will change and that things will be better," Asia said.

"That's why I trust you. You wouldn't hurt me even if you had the chance to," Ran responded.

"Do you think you can trust my friends?" Asia asked.

"No," Ran answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, they've been nothing but nice to me. When I was down on my luck with nowhere else to go and no one to turn to, they picked me up off the ground and turned my life around. If they had any ill intentions, I would probably be just as empty as Ryuusuke," Asia answered.

Ran sat quietly for a moment. She looked into Asia's eyes for a while before shifting her amber eyes to look at Yuuto and Xenovia. Her eyes shifted back towards Asia. "I'll try; but I'll need Ai or Dai to keep me safe, just in case," Ran responded. "It's your turn, Miss Argento."

"That brings up another question," Asia said as she moved one of her pieces. "How did you come to trust Ryuusuke if you don't trust strangers?"

"He's easy for me to read. He has no where else to go and no one left to turn to, just like you did," Ran answered as she moved one of her pieces. "Even if he were to turn against us, it wouldn't be smart on his part; and he knows that very well."

"I guess that's a fair point," Asia said as she moved a piece to catch one of Ran's pieces.

* * *

The two played for a while, eventually lulling Asia to sleep. Ran took the pillow she hid behind previously and put it under Asia's head so she wouldn't be resting her head against the hard ground.

"Good night, Miss Argento," Ran said before packing up the board game and heading upstairs to her room, most likely to fall asleep as well.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Student Council Headquarters,** **7:10** **PM**

After having scoured through tomes and texts aplenty, the Student Council collected sufficient information regarding the Sacred Gears of their enemies. Sona was just about on her way to speak to Rias about the news.

"Shinra, while I'm absent, I will need you to monitor Saji. The rest of you will hold the line in case the enemy is prowling around the building. I'll open a magic circle to the club house to prevent an ambush. This information has to get to Rias immediately," Sona hurriedly explained.

"What info is that, Sona?" a voice sounded.

Sona, Tsubaki, Momo, Tomoe, and Ruruko all turned their heads towards the source of the voice to find the crimson-haired Devil standing in front of a window, looking out into the world with the left side of her face hidden by perspective. Her right eye, the only observable one shifted towards them.

"We have knowledge of the enemy's Sacred Gear," Sona answered. She pulled out a piece of paper.

"The gauntlets are a Counter Type Gear known as Strike Stockpile: otherwise known as The Golden Gauntlets of the Underdog. These gauntlets are capable of absorbing up to ten attacks indiscriminate of their power. Once absorbed, these gauntlets enhance the user's attacks with the stored power for a number of strikes corresponding to the number and order of the absorbed attacks. For example: the user gets struck with one powerful attack, then two weak attacks; the user is able to deliver a powerful enhanced strike, then two enhanced by the absorbed weak attacks," Sona explained.

"Then we must overwhelm him and whittle him down with weaker hits so that he can't capitalize on his Gear's power," Rias said, not turning her head whatsoever as she stared out the window.

"Yes. That was the plan we've formulated," Sona said before looking back down at the paper. "There were only two more Sacred Gears; those were the ones the red-eyed duo possessed. The others bore undocumented weaponry. What unnerves me, however, is the fact that they are both Longinus: the same Longinus, in fact."

Rias's eye shot open and her pupil dilated. "Two of the same Longinus? How is that even possible?" she asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The unfortunate news doesn't stop there, however; the Longinus in question is Faceless Mask: otherwise known as The Blank Canvas that Mirrors All. It is in a typing of its own: Enigma Type. It is capable of turning itself into any Sacred Gear the wielder has previously seen and even allows the user to create one from scratch, albeit with a blow to its power. The fact that there are two of these in possession of our enemy is immeasurably troubling," Sona explained.

Rias bit down on one of her fingers in frustration. Two Longinus that can take the form of other Gears? There seemed to be no way to counter that.

"We will meet at the club house at 11:00 AM. This must be discussed with everyone so we can plan a work around for most of our opponents," Rias said before outstretching her right arm, head still unturning. "Hand me the paper, I'll break the news to my Peerage immediately."

Sona complied and handed Rias the paper. She turned towards the door and began to head out. "Remember, 11:00 AM tomorrow at the ORC club house," she urged as she approached the door out of the room.

"Understood," Sona confirmed.

* * *

 _ **In the words of the immortal Bender: I'm back baby! Sorry about the (second) unnecessarily long wait; I had to do some revisions to the story.**_

 _ **We get to see some nice bonding scenes from the tykes today along with a visit from some familiar faces. Yep, they weren't just stand-in background characters for a single chapter.**_

 _ **I would recommend reading through the story once more (if you haven't already) as there are some details I added while editing the story. While the plot and chapters still follow the same events, there are some added chunks that I felt were needed.**_

 _ **I tried to add in a wee bit of subtle foreshadowing (that most likely isn't as subtle as I think it is). Let me know if you feel it is forced or if it works well.**_

 _ **Feel free to give criticisms of my work; I welcome it with open arms.**_


	15. Volume 2:Life 3

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _ **I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.**_**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _ **They're Here? A Dire Proposal.**_**

After their visit from Rias and Akeno, the Student Council and Occult Research Club prepare for what is to come at 11:00 AM. Both sides, equally unaware of what to expect, anxiously wait until the set time.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy**** ** **Hallway**** ** **,**** ** **10**** ** **:**** ** **3**** ** **0 AM****

In order to ensure this meeting between the Student Council and ORC went off without a hitch, Ai and Daisuke had to be removed from the picture. Ai roamed an empty hallway on her way to her next class.

"My goodness, today is going to be a busy day," said Ai as she gazed upon the pile of homework her last class had given her. Sweat rolled down her face despite her smile; she was obviously not looking forward to the rest of the day.

She turned a corner amidst her distress and bumped into a male student. Due to Ai's height giving her more weight, thus making her more stout than the significantly smaller man, she stood her ground while the other student bounced back and fell on the ground. Her papers, however, were not as stout and fell to the ground in a dizzying storm of inked paper.

"Oh my, I'm sorry sir. I probably should've been minding what was in front of me," Ai said as she approached the downed man, completely disregarding her papers for the moment.

"Ah shit," the man muttered with his head down, hiding his face. "Don't worry 'bout i-" he said before pausing to look up at Ai. It turns out that the man was Issei, who had been speeding around a turn for a reason unknown to Ai. "Oh, Ai. I've been searchin' for ya bud."

"Why so?" Ai said as she helped Issei off of the ground before turning to pick up her papers.

"Xenovia told me to tell ya that there aren't gonna be any club activities today," Issei said as he helped gather up Ai's papers. "I hope that doesn't bum ya out too much."

"Oh, it's fine. As much as I do enjoy helping out with the club, I'll probably be very busy," Ai said with a smile. "On the bright side, more time to wrap up my homework."

"So..." Issei said before scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry 'bout what happened yesterday: gettin' ya into trouble with your parents and all."

"It's fine. It wasn't your fault," Ai assured.

Issei's expression transitioned from embarrassed to serious in a near instant. "Please, stop saying that. I know you don't want me to feel bad, but I'm tired of seein' you bear the brunt of other peoples' fuck-ups," Issei said as he put a hand on Ai's forearm.

"You're quite an adamant one," Ai remarked, looking down at Issei with gentle eyes and smile. "I know you won't accept it, but you don't need to worry about me. All that matters to me is that you, your friends, and my family keep smiling."

"Just... stand up for yourself a little more; that's all I'm askin'," Issei said, removing his arm from Ai.

"I'll try what I can, but I'm afraid I can't make any promises," Ai responded before continuing to pick up her papers.

"Isn't that cute," a voice rang beside Issei. He jumped before looking towards the source: Akeno Himejima. "Getting quite intimate with her, aren't you?"

"I-It isn't like that," Issei said, recovering from the shock of Akeno's sudden appearance. "I just don't like the idea of her bein' a walking doormat for everyone around her."

"Sure. _J_ _ust like Asia, right?_ " Akeno remarked with a mischievous grin.

"Is what Akeno's saying true? Do you hold affection for me?" Ai asked.

"No, no. Don't get me wrong, you're an amazing person; but you're like a sister to me despite… well… you know… not bein' related to me," Issei refuted in a dodgy manner.

"I see. Well, it would be for the better. My brother and Ryuu are very protective of me, more so than the rest of my family; they don't want to see me hurt by any man. Ryuu even said that he would, personally, castrate any boyfriend of mine with a rusty spoon and jam a hot iron rod up the man's rear 'Vlad the Impaler' style if he ever seen my boyfriend with another girl. It would probably be safer for you if you avoided any romantic relations with me," Ai explained.

A look of utter dread was plastered on Issei's face as he feebly held his groin. The grisly visualization of him being on the receiving end of such a punishment inflicted pain and discomfort. "To be honest, I wouldn't put it past him to do that," he thought.

"Oh my, oh my. That sounds unbearably painful," Akeno thought as a mild rush of sadistic bliss pulsed through her. A blush formed on her face, which she hid by turning her face away from view.

"Are you fine, Issei?" Ai asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Just hurt a bit to think about that. I'm fine," Issei answered.

"Sorry, I probably shouldn't have explained that with you around," Ai said.

"Speaking of your brother: how has he been?" Akeno asked. "I haven't seen him around all too much."

"You've scared him so much, he's actively avoiding anyone or anything that sounds or looks like you," Ai answered.

Akeno giggled. "So I've got him paranoid now?"

"Yes, you have. I've never seen him this paranoid since his days in junior high. He has nightmares about you on a constant basis and dreads heading to class so much, he takes the longest and most unorthodox routes to class to avoid you," Ai explained, her face turned sullen.

"So I'm no better than those guys who turned him into an introvert, right?" Akeno asked, her grin lowered to a slight frown as if in response to Ai's own disheartened expression.

Ai sighed. "Well, not really. You've made it easier for him to socialize since you expose him to extreme situations on a constant basis whenever you're around him."

"That's good… I guess," Akeno said, still slightly frowning.

"You know, I can ask my mother to give you her blessings to get with him. You'll have a leg up on Sona that way," Ai suggested, a smile returned to her face as she leaned down slightly, stopping a little above eye-level with Akeno.

Akeno chuckled and her smile returned. "Where is this coming from? First Miu, then President, and now you."

"I put trust into what my mother says; she's rather experienced with romance. If she sees potential for you two, then I do as well. She also sees potential for him and Sona, so take that as a warning," Ai said before her jovial expression gained a blush. "Oh my, I'm overstepping my boundaries, aren't I? Sorry, the thought of finally reintroducing my brother to the world of romance tends to excite me."

Ai looked up at a wall-mounted clock. Her eyes opened wide and her pupils dilated, her smile somehow persisting. "Oh goodness, I'm going to be late. See you dears later," she said before rushing off to her next class, leaving the two Devils to themselves.

* * *

"So, do you really have feelings for him?" Issei asked.

"I…" Akeno began, sighing before continuing. "Look, I only teased him so much because I felt a little angry over how he treated you."

"Then why did you look so sad after Ai told ya how much ya scared him?" Issei asked.

"You saw that, huh?" Akeno asked, her face turned sullen once more. "You know, I kind of feel bad for treating him the way I have. I used to think of him as an all-bark-no-bite kind of guy and wanted to see how long it would take for him to break into tears; now I know he's a nervous guy who is kind at heart and fiercely loyal. He's kind of like you in a way."

"So, you wanna apologize to him?" Issei asked.

"When this is over; when those hooded creatures are taken care of, I want to make it up to him," Akeno answered.

"So, should we be heading to the meeting Prez is holding?" Issei asked.

Akeno's brow raised. "What meeting do you mean?"

"Ya know, the one you told Xenovia about yesterday: at 11:00 AM today between us and the council?" Issei replied.

Akeno's eyes widened. "Issei, I was by President's side all day; she didn't plan any meetings for today,"

"Then why did Xenovia… what's goin' on here?" Issei asked, his expression turned serious.

Akeno's pupils dilated and she clenched her teeth. "Doppelgängers… It's a trap," she muttered.

"We need to warn them," Issei urged before attempting to rush down the hall. Akeno tightly grasped his arm, stopping his advance.

"No, it's too late to try; we'll be caught too," Akeno said, pulling Issei back towards her. "We need to find other stragglers; we may be able to get a leg up if we play our cards right.

With only thirty-minutes left on the clock, the two hastily set out to find members of either the ORC or the Student Council not currently at the club house in an attempt at countering the enemy's approach.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy Schoolyard,**** ** **10**** ** **:**** ** **4**** ** **0**** ** **AM****

With Ai now taken care of, Daisuke had to be informed by Genshirou on behalf of Sona. He searched outside after hearing word from one of the amber-eyed dandy's avid admirers. Unbeknownst to Genshirou, he was feeding into the enemy's plan.

"Alright, so look for a conglomeration of girls. Should be easy enough," Genshirou said as he wandered the schoolyard in his search. He turned a corner and found a full class of students playing volleyball out in a field. In the mass of people, Genshirou could make out a sleek black-haired man. With hopes of it being Daisuke, he jogged over to the group.

The sleek black-haired man turned, allowing Genshirou to catch a glimpse of his eyes. His eyes were a fiery color; it was definitely Daisuke. Genshirou approached Daisuke without him noticing, wading through student after student.

"Hey there," Genshirou said upon finally reaching Daisuke.

Daisuke quickly fixated his attention on Genshirou. His eyes narrowed as if he was annoyed by Genshirou's very voice.

"What do you need?" Daisuke asked with a mildly aggressive tone.

"Are you seriously still mad at me?" Genshirou asked.

"I've dealt with enough abuse in my life; I don't need it from you or anyone else," Daisuke answered. "I'll ask again: what do you need?" he asked, his aggressive tone becoming more prominent.

"A couple of things, actually," Genshirou answered. "But first, we may need to step off to the side; kind of difficult to have a conversation in a noisy crowd."

"Very well then: this best be important," Daisuke said before heading out of the crowd and into a more vacant patch of field. Genshirou followed behind him.

* * *

"To start, President wanted me to tell you that we have no council activities planned for today; so there is no need for you to check in today," Genshirou explained.

"What of President's tutoring? Should I be present for that? Or will you strike me for that as well?" Daisuke asked, his arms crossed and his head tilted.

"No, she'll be too busy for that today," Genshirou answered in a slightly irritated manner, trying what he could to hold back his frustration with the vindictive man.

"Very well then," Daisuke responded.

"Hey Daisuke! Your team scored; time to swap teammates!" a female voice rang from the group behind them. The two looked over to the source to see a female student waving to them from a distance.

"Hold a moment, please! I'm dealing with some important business!" Daisuke yelled back, using his hand to help amplify his voice.

"Alright!" the female student yelled before conversing with her team and giggling.

"Team swapping?" Genshirou asked.

Daisuke sighed and his unpleasant expression shifted to one of fatigue. "Yes. It's an arbitrary variant of volleyball called Mix-N-Match Volleyball where each team has to swap a teammate after each score."

"I'm assuming you've been back and forth," Genshirou said.

"I've been the only one switching teams for about twenty minutes. The gentlemen on each team want to choose someone else, but the ladies on each side basically drown out their opinions. It's bloody exhausting," Daisuke replied before harboring his stern glare once again. "That aside, what else did you need to say to me?"

"Well… I wanted to apologize for acting rashly. It's kind of obvious and you probably already figured it out, but I have feelings for President; you getting so close to her so quickly made me a little jealous," Genshirou said while scratching the back of his head. His eyes drifted away from Daisuke and towards the ground to their left.

"I've been putting a fair deal of thought into it. Glad to see my assumptions were correct; this makes this a little easier for the both of us," Daisuke said, his aggressive tone of voice lightening.

"What do you mean by that?" Genshirou asked.

"I would like to apologize myself," Daisuke said, his scowl and stern gaze turning to a light smile and ireless eyes. "I've been in your shoes before; you devote yourself to someone, give them your everything to please them only to have someone else come along and render all of your effort and affection void. It's a heartbreaking feeling that can bring about unpleasant changes. I had no clue, until recently, that I was treading on such territory," Daisuke explained before putting his hand on Genshirou's shoulder. "If you want to, I can try to distance myself from President so you can have your shot."

"I appreciate the offer, but I will have to decline," Genshirou answered.

Daisuke's brow raised. "Why so?"

"While I do want President, I don't want to see her hurt. If she does hold affection for you, I don't want her heart to break because you decided to go cold on her for my sake; I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself for that," Genshirou explained.

"But that will be where you would come in: to mend her emotional wounds," Daisuke refutted.

"Come on man. You, of all people, should know how bad one heartbreak can affect someone," Genshirou said.

"Fair point. What do you suggest then?" Daisuke asked.

"I suggest we put aside all of this and do what we can to please President. All I want for her is what makes her happy. If she wants you, so be it; if she wants me, so be it. Tsubaki helped me come to terms with that," Geshirou answered before extending an open hand to Daisuke.

Daisuke responded by grasping Genshirou's hand, completing the handshake and burying their ire towards each other. After the handshake, Daisuke tugged down on his gloves.

"Now that those unpleasant emotional vices are dead and gone, I hope we can look forwards to productive cooperation in the future for the sake of the academy, the council, and our President. I bid you a good day, mate," Daisuke said with a large smile on his face before he turned around and began heading back towards the volleyball group.

* * *

"What was that about?" a voice spoke beside Genshirou.

Genshirou turned to see Koneko standing beside him. She ate a chocolate bar with her usual content expression.

"Just some loose ends between me and him: I hit him and whatnot," Genshirou answered.

"I heard he kicked your ass," Koneko remarked.

A strike to his pride caused Genshirou to sweat. "Now who told you that?" he asked.

"Nimura," Koneko answered before she bit into her chocolate bar.

"Shouldn't you be at the meeting?" Genshirou asked.

"What meeting?" Koneko responded, her content expression unchanging.

"Rias came by yesterday and told us about a meeting between the council and the club at 11:00 AM," Genshirou answered.

Koneko's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't her."

"What?" Genshirou asked, his brow raised.

"President was at the club house all day. **That wasn't her,** " Koneko answered.

"You have to be kidding me. She was right there, red hair and all," Genshirou refuted. His disbelief frustrated Koneko.

"I was by her side **all day yesterday** , don't argue. We have to do something," Koneko said.

"It's too late for that, they'll catch us too," a voice spoke. The two turned to see Akeno standing before them with Issei close behind.

"Himejima? What's going on?" Genshirou asked.

"I think we're dealing with Doppelgängers. They must've took the forms of me and President and fed us false information to lure us into a box," Akeno explained.

"Doppelgängers?" Genshirou repeated. His eyes shot open and his pupils dilated. "That means… President handed all our research to a fake!" he exclaimed.

Koneko promptly punched him in the kidney. Genshirou folded in pain and quickly shut up. "We're out in the open, idiot," she muttered.

Genshirou groaned as he rubbed his side. "What the Hell are we going to do? They have two Faceless Mask Longinus."

"But how is that... forget it. Me and Koneko will have to take the offensive vantage point since they can mimic Boosted Gear and Absorption Line. You and Issei will have to stay here in case they try to use the academy to coerce the others into submitting to them," Akeno explained. She turned to Koneko. "We'll have to place traps around the club house and lure them out. The traps will isolate them from each other. From there, we'll pick them apart one-by-one. Come on," she said before rushing over to the club house.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 11:00 AM****

The clock strikes 11:00 AM; the Devils are gathered in the club house. Immediately, something seems off. The rooms weren't prepared for a meeting in the usual Rias way; in fact, she seemed shocked that everyone had gathered here.

"What's going on?" Rias asked.

"We're here for the meeting. You planned it for 11:00 AM today," Sona answered as she adjusted her glasses.

"What? I never said anything about a meeting," Rias replied.

"Yes you did; you came to us in person," Sona refuted. "Are you feeling well, Rias?"

"B-But President was here the entire time," Gasper said. Sona turned to look at him only to have him lunge behind a couch, fearful of a scolding of some sort.

"Is this a joke?" Sona asked, growing increasingly annoyed.

"No, it isn't like President to schedule something this serious only to play a prank on us," Yuuto answered.

"But then, who were we talking to?" Tsubaki asked.

"That would be our Doppelgänger companions, kinder," a deep Germanic voice thundered throughout the room.

The Devils, struck by a sudden surge of terror, turned to see a large man in a cloak. He wielded a massive mace in each hand.

* * *

In the left hand lied a golden mace with four blunt flanges encompassing a chamber holding a sphere with a spiked sphere at the tip, where the flanges met. Holy décor and flowing aesthetics adorned the mace, giving it the appearance of a holy weapon.

In the right hand lied a mace with a more evil appearance. It bore three sharp flanges that each formed a sharp point at the top. A face lied between each flange, giving it a total of three. Light-blue glowing runes ran across the flanges with the same color shining through the mouth and eyes of the faces. Despite the demonic appearance, it gave off a heavenly aura.

* * *

The rest of his compatriots flooded in from behind the man's massive frame; a being taking Akeno's form with a nightmarish red and black right eye, a being taking Rias's form bearing a left eye of the same grim red and black pattern as the other, the buxom Wani with Storm Core, the Irish man with Strike Stockpile, the woman with the twin scythe, and four new hooded figures; a tall man that seemed to exude a deathly aura, one whose hands were nothing but bone, one woman with a dog-like tail bearing red fur, and a short man who gave off an indecipherable energy.

They all stood in a line, facing the Devils they had now cornered. The man wielding the maces stepped forward, each step thundering like the march of an elephant. He took a seat on a couch in the center of the room. He planted his maces onto the ground and held onto them; the sheer force of their fall created a heavy tremor in the room and shook some of the décor in the room off-center.

"Please, all of you, take a seat. You knew this was bound to happen soon; you have been watching us quite often," the Germanic man spoke.

"Wait how-" Rias began, shocked that the man knew of their surveillance.

"Keep your thoughts on a tight lock if you don't want me prying them away. I thought Der Rot Drachen Kaiser—The Red Dragon Emperor—told you that already. Then again, you were most likely too caught up in researching my companions to remember," the man interrupted.

He signaled to the fake Rias, who held up a paper: the Student Council's research. The being approached the man and handed him the paper before returning to the side of the false Akeno.

"To prove this visit is in good faith, I shall hand you back your valuable information so long as you hear us out," the man spoke.

"Fine," Rias said, not wanting to instigate a fight in this disadvantage state. She approached the couch opposite from the man and sat down. She motioned to her peerage to stand by her.

* * *

As Xenovia and Asia approached Rias, they glanced over at the tall figure giving off a grim aura. The moment they laid eyes on him, their instincts put them on edge. From under his hood, they could see glowing red eyes, instilling them with immense fear. Unlike the soothing and beautiful red in Rias's hair, his red foreshadowed nothing but death and bloodshed. Xenovia was too fearful to turn her eyes away from the man for even a second and Asia quickly looked away from his eyes as if afraid of being attacked by the figure's very gaze.

As Yuuto approached Rias, he could not pry his eyes away from the Germanic man's maces. Something about their energy felt so familiar, yet so foreign to him. It would seem his weapons were Holy Swords, but, aside from being maces, they harbored an energy that far outclassed any Holy Sword Yuuto had seen.

Gasper slowly approached Rias. Midway through his advance, he peered over at the tailed woman. Her tailed wagged impatiently as if she was waiting for someone to strike and start a brawl. Gasper froze up in fear and stopped moving entirely, a face of utter terror plastered on his face that seemed distressed for even his standards. He refused to move any further, even to retreat to whatever distant corner of the building he called safe.

Sona moved forwards, keeping a trained eye on the short man. The lack of a truly distinguishable energy concerned her. As she read the man's energy further, she found it to be a hybrid of multiple creatures: a Chimera of some sort, maybe? She sat down beside Rias.

Tsubaki followed behind Sona. She glared over at the figure with skeletal hands. Immediately, she was overwhelmed by an immense energy it was giving off. She discerned it to be centuries, if not a millennium, old by the bleached white bones it showed. Was it the leader of this group? She sat beside Sona.

As Tsubasa walked to Sona's side, the man wielding Strike Stockpile piqued her interest. She watched him closely as he leaned back against the wall with crossed arms. He noticed her staring and scoffed. "Quit your feckin' gawkin'. Your business is with that lad," the man said with his heavy Irish accent, pointing towards the Germanic man. Tsubasa turned her gaze over to the mace-wielding giant.

Ruruko approached Sona. From the corner of her eye, motion from the Doppelgänger duo was seen. She stopped in their tracks and stared them down. The fakes seemed to melt away into a pale slimy humanoid, revealing a skeletal, almost alien, frame before their biomass contorted into what seemed to be hooded robes. Once color returned to their biomass, they took a form similar to their companions: shady people wearing hooded black robes. In the light of the room, their masks could be seen with great detail: to which there was none. The masks were damaged, devoid of any facial features, and a pure white. Aside from the eye holes, missing segments of the masks around the pair's monstrous eyes were the only windows into what lied behind their masquerade.

Momo started towards her President. Her gaze turned towards the Wani woman. A supernatural and draconic energy filled her senses. Despite being clouded by the shade of her hood, the woman's brilliant blue eyes shined through. Despite her powerful aura, her eyes gave off a gentle vibe. She held Storm Core close to her in an almost insecure manner with the prongs pointing to the ground.

Reya and Tomoe were the last to move towards Sona. After hearing of what the twin scythe-wielding woman was capable of, they couldn't help but keep an eye on her. They kept watch for any aggressive movement from her. The woman held her weapon behind her and swayed herself back and forth. The woman constantly shifted her head to focus on various objects in the room. During these motions, Reya caught sight of something on her face: a mask. It bore a simple black base and a detailed white skull, mouth agape as if it was screaming, painted over it. She whispered the details to Tomoe as they approached Sona.

* * *

"These past few days have been tense for both sides, I see," the Germanic man spoke. "You kinder being threatened by an unseen, unknown enemy. Us having to dance around both two siblings of Der Stark Satans—The Great Satans—and the bearer of Der Rot Drachen Kaiser—The Red Dragon Emperor," the man said before raising his head and peering to the left and to the right; he seemed to be searching for someone. "Speaking of which, he and a few other diener of yours seem to be absent."

Rias and Sona looked behind them; they could've swore everyone was accounted for. Their eyes shot open when they realized that Issei, Akeno, Koneko, and Genshirou were missing.

"I see this was not of your doing: no matter," the man spoke before turning to the two shapeshifters. "Lux, Umbra, you two station yourselves atop the building. Archmage will cloak you. If you detect any supernatural energies, alert me and we will work from there."

The masked duo nodded and began heading towards the door. The figure with the skeletal hands raised one of its arms, a blue magic circle appearing before its hand. The duo vanished, both their appearances and energies perfectly obscured by whatever magic the skeletal man infused them with. The only sign of their leave was the opening and closing of the door.

Sona's eyes narrowed. "What is it that you seek if it is not us?"

"Das menschen—those humans—who tend to cling to your sides like scared kinder," the man answered.

Rias's eyes narrowed as well. "You mean the Kasais?"

"Yes. You see, we are söldlinge—mercenaries—hired to abduct them," the man answered.

Sona grit her teeth. "Why do you need them?"

"The purposes and the names of our employers are not to be disclosed. It is bad for business to do so, kind; you don't get many long-standing kunden if you disclose credentials. Anonymity is important in this line of work; but that is not the point here. All we ask of you is to stay out of our way. We only want das menschen—the humans; we have no desire to antagonize prestigious and powerful figures," the man answered.

"There's a problem with that," Rias said. "We have grown fairly fond of your targets,"

"Yes, I know. That, and you feel as if they are part of some grand-scale plan that may shake the world. There is another factor for some of you, but I am not one to single others out for those reasons," the man intervened.

"Could you stop invading our minds?" Ruruko asked, her face a disdainful scowl.

"I have to be sure you are telling die wahrheit—the truth. It is unfair, I would agree; but you have to take into consideration your advantage," the man spoke before raising his left hand from his golden mace and pointing at both Rias and Sona. "Their siblings hold immense power; both of them are capable of, at the least, disintegrating whole countries."

"So, you're much more perceptive than I assumed," Rias said with a smirk, having now found a way to pull the situation in her favor. She realized that, in this case, the enemy had to pander to their wishes, lest Sirzechs and Serafall be dragged in.

At that moment, Sona remembered that they had not received word from their siblings yet. She quickly put it from her mind as to not show such a weakness. If the psychic pried that thought from her head, they would be in great trouble.

"Yes, that is correct, Miss Gremory," the man answered; he grasped the hilt of his golden mace and left it resting there.

"I would suggest you drop this contract. There is nothing stopping us from contacting our siblings and having them deal with you," Rias said as she lied back into the couch with a confident look on her face.

"That is not an option, Miss Gremory," the man answered.

This answered shocked Rias. Were they asking to die? "What do you mean by that?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Unsere seelen—our souls—were bound, by a contract, to fulfill our end of the bargain," the man responded before putting his left hand to his chin. "It seems that we are at a loss either way."

"You should've been more careful with throwing your souls about; it's not really wise to do that. Maybe there's a loophole you can exploit to get yourselves out of this?" Rias said, leaning in with a stern expression.

"No, there isn't. It was a solid and well-written pact. We made soul-bound pacts often as a marketing tactic to draw in kunden; it seemed clever at first since we were a strong unit. Never thought I would be faced with the siblings of Der Stark Satans—The Great Satans," the man spoke.

"Sounds like a bad predicament you guys are in, huh?" Rias asked.

"I'm sorry to say this, Miss Gremory, but we can't and won't back down on our mark," the man said before standing up. "If you can't accept that, then we'll fight tooth and nail."

"Very well then. Make your peace with death," Rias said, standing up as well to size the giant up. Such a pathetic sight to see such a massive man be intimidated by a person less than the size of one of his weapons.

The man chuckled. "Quite brave when behind mein bruder—your brother—aren't you?"

* * *

Rias's confident expression wavered to one of confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Miss Sitri was far too sharp for her own good here. She remembered something she shouldn't have," the man said.

"No," Sona thought. Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated.

"Yes, Miss Sitri. Had that little slip-up not revealed itself, you would've had us in quite the conundrum," the man spoke.

"What is he saying, Sona?" Rias turned towards her. Her face was no longer confident; it was rife with distress.

"Serafall and Sirzechs can't come to our aid. They're caught up with matters in the Underworld, remember," Sona answered.

A wave of dread washed over the Peerages of Sona and Rias. Their trump card was a bluff, and he saw right through it. With nothing to hide behind or threaten the hooded folk, the Devils were now at the mercy of their wishes.

"With that being said, what do you do now: risk confrontation with us in an attempt at saving inconsequential menschen, or let us do what we must do?" the man asked.

Rias stood silent; she had to weigh the consequences. She could either put herself, her Peerage, Sona, and Sona's Peerage in peril or let these hired goons make off with an innocent and happy family they had grown fond of. Memories of the times they've spent together and Issei's adamant desire to protect them made this decision all the more difficult for her. She knew that her Peerage were willing to fight for the Kasai's safety and, judging by the looks on Sona's servants' faces, the Student Council thought the same. Maybe they had a chance with everyone together.

Before she could even get a word out, a water serpent lashed out towards the Germanic man. Just before it could touch him, it evaporated instantly; the Wani's raised hand signaled to Rias that she vaporized the serpent, but was not the source. Rias looked to her left to see Sona with a look of silent rage on her face, hand raised and pointed towards the man.

* * *

A dead silence fell upon the room, both sides taking a defensive position with weapons and magic at the ready. The Germanic man, however, stood calmly and sighed.

"So, that's how it's going to be then? I was hoping to avoid this, but it seems you won't leave us with any other choice. Prepare yourself, kinder," the man said as he lifted his maces from the ground and held them effortlessly above the ground.

In that moment, there was no turning back; the meeting would come to a violent close.

* * *

 ** _ **Yep, we're ending this chapter with a cliffhanger. Felt that the first actual fight of the story would need at least a little hype.**_**

 ** _ **How many saw shapeshifters coming (a lot probably)? Tried to foreshadow that a bit in the previous chapter.**_**

 ** _ **Next chapter will be a test of how well I can write fights; hopefully it won't be a trainwreck.**_**

 ** _ **As always, feel free to leave criticisms if you feel something is off.**_**


	16. Volume 2:Life 4

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _Do or Die! Lives are on the Line!_**

With the meeting having went in a most dire direction, the Devils are cornered by their adversaries. Without intention on abandoning their mission, the mercenaries raise arms to battle. For the sake of their friends, the young Devils will fight against the band of freelance murderers that have been in their hair for the past week or so.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 11:30 AM**

Both sides stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a false move. The air was still, the Devils' breath even stiller. Each opponent gave off a powerful energy; this fight was not about to be an easy one.

The Germanic man raised his large maces into the air and abruptly brought them down onto Sona and Rias with a forceful grunt.

Both deftly avoided the man's attack.

The strike caused the entire floor they were on to crumble and shatter, dropping both sides down to the bottom floor. Rias's and Sona's side landed safely on the bottom floor and stood close together. Dust and debris filled the air; stinging the Devils' eyes and weakening their breathing. Visibility lowered, masking the mercenaries behind a wall of gray wreckage.

A loud roar from the Germanic man was heard from within the cloud alongside rapid, forceful trampling akin to a mighty buffalo's charge. Suddenly, he burst through the cloud of debris and tackled both Rias and Sona, carrying them as he forcefully bashed through several walls and into the outside world.

The Devils rushed out of the building through the massive hole to aid their superiors and to escape the suffocating cloud of wood chips and dust.

* * *

The hole lead to the backyard of the club house, providing an open arena for them to fight with a few trees scattered about it. Behind them, on the opposite side of the building, lied the road back to campus. The sun was still in the sky, meaning students were still on campus past the woods the road carved through. The woods that encircled the club house were enough to hide any ground-level conflict and some midair conflict due to its tall trees, but any sky-high combat was at risk of being seen by the students. The Devils could not afford to take flight unless it was absolutely necessary.

Rias's Peerage continued to advance towards Sona and Rias while Sona's Peerage turned and placed a sturdy barrier over the club house, trapping the Germanic man's companions inside. Yuuto and Xenovia pulled ahead due to their superior speed as Knights.

"Balance Breaker!" Yuuto shouted as he summoned forth his mighty one-handed Holy Demon Sword, Sword of Betrayer. He pulled even further ahead, leaving Xenovia behind before lunging into the air and swinging down upon the Germanic man with his red-runed gold and black sword.

The man simply evaded Yuuto and lazily kicked him in the chest. The strike sent him flying into one of the large trees that decorated the field. The back of his head smashed against the sturdy tree with great force, rendering him unconscious. The tree, after Yuuto's collision, bore a deep crack in its thick trunk. With such power from such a casual attack it became evident that they could not afford to let the Germanic man hit any of them.

Xenovia summoned forth Durandal and prepared a lunge herself. Suddenly, dread washed over her; it was as if death itself was on her tail. She stopped and swung behind her only to hit air. Standing before her, out of range of her blade, was the grim man with red eyes.

He stood there, silently watching her.

Xenovia continued her approach towards Rias and Sona, keeping her blade trained on the red-eyed man, only for him to appear right in front of her the moment she turned around.

The man was not about to let her pass.

Xenovia jumped back out of shock. "He's fast," she thought, preparing her blade.

The man, however, didn't move; he stood there, watching.

* * *

As Tsubasa held the barrier, she felt the tap of a finger on her shoulder. She turned her head and was greeted with a punch to the face. She felt cold, hard metal as the fist made contact; it was the Irish wielder of Strike Stockpile. The strike knocked her against the barrier with a splat.

The barrier wavered slightly. Tsubasa's allies turned to her.

"Hold the line, I got him!" Tsubasa yelled to her fellow council mates as she wiped the back of her hand against her mouth.

"Let's make good craic of this, wee doll," the Irish man spoke, taking a boxer's stance as he hopped from side to side enthusiastically.

Tsubasa cracked her knuckles and spat out whatever blood was present in her mouth, her face stern and focused. She lunged forward to deliver a flying right hook aimed for the man's face in return.

He blocked her attack with his forearm and retaliated with a rush of punches to her core. The rapid jabs backed by the man's strength packed the force of a car collision with each strike. He reared up to deliver a strong uppercut.

Tsubasa managed to weave back and away from the uppercut. The strike sent a strong gust of wind upwards, nearly lifting Tsubasa off the ground. Tsubasa cocked her head back and delivered a headbutt to the man's face.

The man's head reeled back from the force of her strike. He promptly recovered and delivered a headbutt of his own. His strength forced Sona's Rook back a fair distance, kicking up dirt and scarring the ground with deep gashes as she held her ground. The man tucked his body and arms in and dashed forward before delivering a double uppercut to Tsubasa's chin. The hard metal of Strike Stockpile amplified the pain in Tsubasa's teeth. The strike sent her flying a little above the treeline. The man jumped up to deliver a downward punch.

Tsubasa managed to block the strike, but was sent downwards onto the barrier with a loud thud. It's durability wavered from the impact.

Upon landing, the Irish man turned his attention to Tsubasa's council mates, who were holding the barrier. He prepared to strike Reya with a strong, wide-swinging punch.

Reya winced in anticipation, fully dedicated to keeping the remaining threats even in the face of the man's assault.

Tsubasa lunged off the barrier and drop-kicked the man away from her compatriots, sending the man flying back. "Keep holding the line!" she shouted, blood streaming from both corners of her mouth, before dashing over to the Irish man.

After the two left, it was oddly easy for them to hold the barrier. No resistance came from the inside whatsoever.

* * *

Asia managed to reach Xenovia's side. She stood by her, ready to face the red-eyed man as Xenovia's healer.

The man stood there, menacingly looking down upon them. He didn't even move in an aggressive manner. Nonetheless, fear gripped both of their hearts from just looking at the man's crimson eyes.

Xenovia lunged forwards and delivered a slash at the man.

The man deftly dodged and returned to standing still, not even taking advantage of the blue-haired Knight's missed swing.

"Are you just going to keep running!?" Xenovia exclaimed. This man's antics were beginning to get on her nerves despite only just starting her fight with him.

The man said nothing, not even moving to signal acknowledgment, and continued watching.

Xenovia rushed in once again and delivered a flurry of slashes.

The man effortlessly dodged every attack, never capitalizing on any of the misses; he was very fast, but very passive.

Xenovia delivered a powerful downward slash out of frustration.

The man simply stepped to the side and stood there. The blade flew by him and landed before his feet.

Xenovia jumped back to Asia's side. She needed to rethink her approach.

The man continued to do nothing; he just watched them ominously.

* * *

Gasper hid behind a tree on the border between plain field and dense foliage. He cowered and shivered. "Please let me wake up. Please let me wake up. Please let me wake up," he repeated as he curled up into the fetal position, hoping for none of this to be real.

"Wow. Just wow," a feminine voice spoke.

Gasper looked up and saw the tailed woman standing over him with her hands on her hips. The sight of the woman, and the very peculiar smell the woman's blood emanated, paralyzed him in fear.

"Your friends are out there puttin' their lives on the line and you're here losin' your cool behind a tree?" the woman asked before crossing her arms. "I expected _soooo_ much more from the rival of my species," she said as she stared down the effeminate Dhampir. "Boo."

Gasper yelped before promptly using his Sacred Gear to stop time. He escaped elsewhere into the woods.

The woman smirked and her tail wagged rapidly. "Ya can't hide from my nose, femboy, even with time-fuckery." She took a quadrupedal stance and ran through the woods, following the scent left behind by Gasper when he stopped time.

As she ran, she stepped on an electric rune, rendering her immobile as electricity coursed through her body.

"Got one," a blank, feminine voice said from above the tailed woman. She looked up to see a tiny girl with a blank expression and white hair in midair; Koneko had unknowingly arrived to Gaspers aid. She crashed down on the woman's head with a strong punch, burying her head into the ground. Koneko leaped away to get some distance.

The woman promptly pulled her head from the ground. "Not cool. I was huntin' Vampire here," the tailed woman said as she rubbed her head.

Koneko immediately understood the situation just by the words "Vampire" and "huntin'." Her eyes narrowed. "Suck it," she remarked as she got into a defensive stance.

The woman sniffed the air. "Why the Hell do ya smell like a cat?" she asked as she got down on her hands and feet much like a wolf.

"None of your-" Koneko began.

She was interrupted by the woman dashing at her on all-fours before throwing her whole body at Koneko's legs. Koneko leaped over her and stomped down on the woman's back, smashing her against the ground again.

"Business." Koneko got off the woman's back and walked away.

Suddenly, something grabbed Koneko's leg. She turned to see the woman grasping a hold of her.

"Ya can't put down a Werewolf that easily, gal," she said before lifting Koneko by her leg and repeatedly smashing her against the ground. Each crash of her body left an indent in the ground below. The woman chucked Koneko, with brutish might, into a tree.

Koneko recovered from the throw, landing with her feet against the tree before she lunged back at the Werewolf woman. Koneko flipped forward and delivered a heel down onto the her opponent's head, making her eat dirt for a third time, before using the Werewolf's head as a pedestal to leap away to a safer distance.

"Ya know," the woman said, muffled by the dirt. She pulled her head from the ground. "You're startin' to piss me off with that."

"Good," Koneko remarked before getting back into a defensive stance.

The woman dashed towards Koneko on all fours again.

Koneko attempted to stomp her face into the ground for a fourth time.

The woman, however, lunged to the side and jumped at Koneko. Large claws grew from her hands as she sailed towards the petite girl, threatening to tear Koneko asunder.

A bolt of lighting struck the woman before she could make contact, smashing her into the ground again.

Koneko looked up to see Akeno descending from a tree.

The woman got back up, smoke spewing from her mouth. Her robes were burnt a fair bit on the back, but her skin remained undamaged.

"Anything on her?" Akeno asked, preparing another spell.

"Reckless Werewolf," Koneko answered.

"That could be a problem," Akeno remarked.

The two prepared to face off against the woman. Koneko took an aggressive stance while Akeno prepared another spell.

"Alright, warm-up's over," the woman remarked with an irked tone.

The sounds of snapping bone and tearing flesh were heard from the woman. Her entire body began morphing into that of a muscular canine-humanoid beast. Her robes tore apart as her body grew and grew. Before Koneko and Akeno were able to get any distinguishable details concerning the woman's appearance, brown fur quickly grew all over her body before being drenched in a sanguine hue. Her eyes swapped to an amber hue much like that of Daisuke. When she finally stopped growing, she was a little bigger than a pick-up truck when on all fours.

She dashed into the woods, vanishing from sight. Sounds of crunching leaves and snapping branches could be heard all around Koneko and Akeno; she was planning to strike from shadows. The sounds grew closer and closer until they suddenly stopped behind Koneko and Akeno.

A shadow loomed over the two.

Koneko looked up to see the beast coming down upon them. She pushed Akeno out of the way, but was unable to evade the beast herself; she was trapped under the woman's clawed hand, which was big enough to hold the small girl like a doll. With Rias's Rook at her mercy, the woman put more pressure on Koneko, crushing her against the hard ground; she wanted payback for Koneko making her eat dirt.

Lightning struck the Werewolf's back, causing her to relent in her pressuring. She stood and faced Akeno, holding onto Koneko with a firm grip. When standing, she was nearly as tall as a giraffe. Her arms were long enough to reach down to her knees, her claws jutting a foot further. She reared her free hand back and prepared to grab Akeno.

"Dragon Shot!"

A mighty beam of energy struck the side of the beast and sent her flying back towards the club house, dropping Koneko in the process. As the woman flew back, she smashed through tree after tree; each tree producing a thundering crash as they toppled to the ground.

The two looked to the source of the blast to see Issei in his Scale Mail, Genshirou, and Gasper. It turns out Gasper used his Sacred Gear to bring reinforcements. The two smiled upon seeing the Pawns and the Dhampir.

"Gottem!" Issei exclaimed as he, Gasper, and Genshirou high-fived each other.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see Hyoudou here," Koneko muttered.

"Come on, we have to help the others. The other scary guys are behind a barrier; we can take them," Gasper said while tugging on Issei's arm.

"Issei can't go. If the Doppelgängers see Boosted Gear, they'll break the barrier," Akeno warned.

"They've already seen it. Come on," Genshirou urged, leading the charge back to the battlefield.

The five rushed through the line of wreckage left by the Werewolf as it flew towards the club house.

"If they've seen it, why haven't they used it yet?" Akeno thought. It seemed odd to her that, with the power of Boosted Gear at their disposal, the barrier would still be standing. Could they not replicate it somehow?

* * *

The Germanic man effortlessly swung his massive maces at Rias and Sona, who deftly evaded. The man, as if reading their very movements from within their mind, struck Rias mid-evasion with his three-faced mace. Rias was sent flying into a tree at high speed. The force of the impact smashed her straight through the tree; a thunderous crash rang from the fallen plant. To deal with Sona, he delivered an abrupt kick to her chest and sent her flying back much like he did with Yuuto. Sona smashed against a thick tree trunk, but was able to avoid smashing her head against it; she was still conscious, but needed a breather.

Intense pain coursed through Rias as she got up; the strike left her vision blurry and placed a deafening ringing in her ears. Despite this, she could see a large figure rushing towards her; the man wasn't finished with her yet.

Suddenly, an even larger figure crashed into the smaller one and knocked it out of her view. She seen something fly from the smaller figure: the man's maces.

* * *

"A-A Werewolf?" Asia exclaimed. Her face turned to a horrified expression.

"As if this guy wasn't enough of a problem," Xenovia said, staring down the red-eyed man. She had planned on attacking him when he struck; he, however, never budged. Her patience wearing thin, Xenovia decided to lunge towards the man only to trip over some debris from the club house.

An aura even darker than before befell the red-eyed man.

Before Xenovia could even regain her footing, a sharp pain ran across her midsection, legs, back, and arms instantly. She fell to her knees, blood spewing from her body and limbs. She turned to look at the man, her vision quickly becoming hazy due to pain and blood loss. She could see the man with clawed hands and lips curled back, showing a mouth full of jagged, fierce teeth. Somehow, not a single drop of blood was on the man; it was as if he struck Xenovia faster than the blood could spill from her. Instead of dealing the deathblow, the man turned to face Xenovia and returned to watching her. His claws retracted and his lips curled back down, hiding his ghastly maw.

"I see now," Xenovia said with a weakened and raspy voice, quickly losing consciousness.

Asia, in a panic, rushed over to Xenovia's side and began healing her wounds in despite the man's displayed lethality. The red-eyed man did nothing to stop this; he only watched. Xenovia recovered from her wounds, only barely avoiding losing consciousness. She stood back up with Durandal in hand.

Akeno, Koneko, Issei, Genshirou, and Gasper arrived at the battlefield. Genshirou rushed over to tend to Sona, who was propped up against a tree. Koneko noticed Tsubasa struggling against the Irish Sacred Gear wielder and made her way to them. Akeno and Gasper rushed over to Yuuto's side and attempted to wake him. Issei looked over to see Asia and Xenovia facing off against the grim man. The terrifying aura the man gave off immediately reached Issei; he had to protect the two girls. He rushed over to the two, clad in the red armor of Ddraig, reaching their sides in little time.

"Issei, where have you-"Asia began.

"Don't worry about us. This guy only attacks when you trip up. Otherwise, he just dodges and waits. Go help President," Xenovia explained.

Issei nodded before rushing over to Rias, who was staggering by a fallen tree after being struck by the Germanic man.

The red-eyed man attempted to block his way, but was intercepted by Xenovia with a swing of Durandal. The blade cut his leg, greatly hindering his ability to outpace Xenovia. Despite this, he didn't even let out a yelp of pain. He attempted to run past Xenovia only to be met with more swings at his legs, which he began avoiding at all costs. His attention, once again, focused on Xenovia.

"Now you're taking me seriously, huh?" Xenovia taunted. She now had a leg up on the man, both metaphorically and literally.

* * *

Tsubasa unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks against the Irish man.

He expertly blocked them all, retaliating with a flurry of his own light punches at Tsubasa's core after each block. Every strike took more and more of Tsubasa's breath away; he was trying to wear her out. Between each flurry, he giddily hopped from side to side, keeping the same boxer's stance from before.

"Mon well, wee doll. Don't tell me ya tired now; it's still Round 1," the Irish man said before stopping his hopping. "Or did ya wise up? Ya givin' up on me?"

"Shut up before that mouth makes things worse for you," Tsubasa said. Her entire torso was sore; it hurt for her to move much of anything. Her breath was hurried and short, but she managed to hold a confident smirk. "Take a look around you."

The Irish man turned his head to look behind him. The Germanic man was disarmed; his maces were tossed across the battlefield after the Werewolf, who took a close-ranged full-charged Dragon Shot to her side, crashed into and pinned him. The red-eyed man bore a crippling gash in his leg as he stood off against Xenovia. The Irish man was essentially alone against the rest of the Devils.

"Dammit Ripper! How you 'bout to let that doll-faced hack cut your damn leg!?" the man yelled, expressing obvious disappointment with the flailing of his arms. He turned back towards Tsubasa. "Feck it! I'll take all ya gobshites on!" he said while dashing towards Tsubasa, his body and arms tucked in.

Before he could reach Tsubasa, a tiny fist crashed against his face and sent him flying away.

"No you won't," Koneko said. She dusted off her knuckles and got into a fighting stance.

"Agh! Bitch!" the man shouted as he got off the ground and clenched his fists.

"Give up. Your allies are either defeated or locked behind a barrier," Tsubasa said, her confident smirk still withstanding. Victory was in their grasp.

The man laughed hysterically, much to Tsubasa's surprise; the man was aggressive and energetic, but he never came off as crazy. Tsubasa raised a brow, Rias and Issei looked in his direction with confusion on their faces, and Koneko stared blankly at him. Xenovia and Asia were too preoccupied with the red-eyed man, now known as Ripper, to notice as looking away from him for even a second could lead to Xenovia losing him. Genshirou was too busy tending to his wounded King. The rest were too focused on holding a barrier over the remaining mercenaries within the destroyed building, providing the Devils with their greatest advantage.

"So that's why they be doin' that?" the wielder of Strike Stockpile asked, laughing while pointing towards the barrier Sona's Peerage was holding. "I thought they be 'bout to bust our dials with some crazy shite like an Uber Cannon of Feck Off! Me lads ain't behind that wall, ya feckin' cabbage!" the man said, his laughter intensifying. He looked up and towards the barrier. "Lads, get a load a' these spas! They be thinkin' they be winnin'!"

The Devils' hearts collectively sank. Perched right on top of the barrier, a magical rune below them, stood the rest of the hooded adversaries: the Wani, the skeletal creature, the short man, the woman with the twin-scythe, and the Doppelgänger duo. They had been watching the whole time; the barrier was all for nothing.

* * *

The Germanic man rolled the Werewolf off of him. "Like I said, kinder, we are a strong unit," the man said before a bright yellow barrier formed around him, his maces, the Werewolf, Ripper, and the wielder of Strike Stockpile.

"Lux! Umbra! Play thy parts!" the figure with skeletal hands shouted with a light male voice.

The Doppelgänger with the monstrous left eye, Umbra, raised her arm and folded her hand. Suddenly, a suffocating shadow was cast over the battlefield, reducing the vision of even the Devils: who were gifted with the ability of natural night-vision. A feeling of weightlessness briefly fell upon the Devils. Only being able to see about five feet in front of them at best, the Devils stumbled around, trying to catch their bearings.

* * *

"President!" Genshirou shouted as he waded through the shadows. He was by her side just a moment ago, but she seemed to have vanished entirely.

"Saji?" the voice of Sona rang through the darkness. Genshirou rushed straight towards the source of the noise.

"No Saji, over here!" another voice of Sona shouted from the opposite direction, stopping him in his tracks. "That one is an impostor!"

"Saji, get over here now! It's trying to deceive you!" the first voice of Sona shouted.

Genshirou, now torn and confused, remained stagnant. He did not know who to trust.

* * *

"Ruruko, I need help!" the voice of Tsubasa yelled to the left of Ruruko.

"Comin'!" Ruruko shouted before attempting to dash into the shadows.

"Don't do it, Nimura!" the voice of Tsubaki shouted to the far right of her. "Remember, these Lux and Umbra characters are Doppelgängers! This is no doubt a trap of theirs! Stay there and I'll regroup with you!"

"How the Hell do I know you're not one of them!? You were right beside me earlier!" Ruruko shouted.

"I don't know what happened, but it seems they somehow displaced us to isolate us! Just stay put and be on guard; I'll meet with you and we can go find the rest from there on!" the voice of Tsubaki shouted.

"Ruruko, I don't think I can take another fight myself in this darkness!" Tsubasa shouted; her breaths were heavy.

Conflicted, Ruruko teetered between staying or going to aid her friend. Which voice was a Doppelgänger? With a fifty-fifty chance of falling for a trap, Ruruko made her choice.

"To Hell with it," Ruruko thought before rushing towards the sound of Tsubasa's voice. She considered it the best course of action; if the voice of Tsubaki was a trap, she and Tsubasa would be in a world of trouble if she were to stay as opposed to her being the only one in danger if Tsubasa's voice was a trick.

* * *

Genshirou, still motionless and unable to decide, had an idea cross his mind. The very idea caused him deep emotional pain, but a questionnaire about what the real Sona would know wasn't about to help anybody here in this tense time. He summoned forth his Absorption Line.

"I'm sorry President!" Genshirou shouted as he shot a line out towards the first voice of Sona. It made contact as evidenced by energy transferring across the line, glowing faintly in the oppressing darkness. Upon reaching Genshirou, the energy of a Devil entered his body. Genshirou had thought he struck the real Sona. The sound of her pained voice tormented him.

"Saji, what are you doing?" the first voice shouted. Her screams of pain pierced Genshirou's heart and soul.

"Good work Saji! Whatever you're doing, keep it up!" the second voice shouted.

Genshirou winced in pain on behalf of the voice he was sapping. Even if it was an impostor, the cries of pain sounded uncannily similar to her; it was almost too much for him to stand. He was about to let go of the voice when he noticed his field of view growing. The shadow cast over the battlefield was weakening.

"Yes Saji! Keep going!" the second voice shouted.

Part of his mind urged him to stop. What if the voice urging him forward was the fake playing a sick prank on him? He had to push his doubts to the side; it was do or die.

The shadow reduced to a mere haze.

Genshirou could see, ensnared within his line, Sona with a red and black left eye. She was the Doppelgänger: Umbra, to be specific. Her cries of pain quickly turned into silence and her gaze turned stern upon realizing her facade had failed.

"I was led to believe you'd be a weak-willed let down. No matter," Umbra spoke with a grim and imposing rumble in her voice.

A massive hand of solid shadow spewed from Genshirou's own shadow and grasped him firmly. Immense pressure was put on him as the hand attempted to crush him. As the darkness began squeezing the breath out of his chest, a water serpent further constricted the copy. The shadow hand let go of Genshirou and dissipated. Multiple hands emerged from Umbra's own shadow to fend off the serpent while the real Sona rushed over to Genshirou's side.

"You did well, Saji. I got it from here," Sona said as she stood against Umbra, who had wrangled the serpent off her and had engulfed it in darkness. The hands pawed at the glowing blue line wrapped around Umbra in a savage and voracious manner. The hands couldn't even grip the line lest they be absorbed into Genshirou. Umbra's Faceless Mask transformed into a glittering, shield-shaped Sacred Gear placed on her right arm.

* * *

Ruruko made it to the side of Tsubasa; both of her eyes matched. Seeing that the cloud of shadow had wavered, she surveyed the area.

Straight ahead and across the field from her was the club house. In front of the hole of the building stood Umbra, Sona, and Genshirou. A fair distance to the left of the three was Issei and Rias. Ruruko turned her head right to see Koneko, Asia, Momo, and Reya alongside three trees scattered about. She turned her head left to see Tomoe and Xenovia with four trees scattered about; one bore a deep crack in its trunk. She turned behind her to see Tsubaki near where she had once stood, expecting to see Tsubaki with one nightmarish eye.

Tsubaki's eyes were of violet and light brown hues; she was the real Tsubaki. Where was the other Doppelgänger if both voices were real? Upon second inspection, Ruruko also noticed that Akeno, Gasper, Yuuto, and the enemies they had just overwhelmed were nowhere to be seen. Where did they go?

* * *

"Lux!" Umbra shouted before smashing her shield Gear against the ground and shattering it to pieces. A gold barrier formed around her, severing Genshirou's tether.

An intense light shone down upon the field. The Devils looked up to see the sky speckled in hundreds of light spears. Right above Umbra and the swarm of spears hovered Lux with three pairs of Angel wings. She held a spear of light significantly larger than the countless others in the sky. The cloud wasn't a trap; it was a distraction.

"Obliterate them!" Umbra yelled.

Lux hurled the spear at Umbra's barrier. Following behind it, a bedazzling hail of light spears came down upon the same spot. The spears struck Umbra's barrier, causing it to glow with a blindingly bright light. Whatever they were planning, it was about to be explosive.

The Devils frantically put up barriers, fearing what was about to spew forth from Umbra's own barrier. Xenovia took the extra step and attempted to block the attack with the flat side of Durandal. Issei stepped out in front of Rias to serve as her meat shield if need be. Despite all their preparations, the amount of absorbed light energy would be far too much for their barriers to handle. Their efforts were futile; they would all be wiped out by this attack.

* * *

Numerous black tendrils enveloped Umbra's barrier, completely engulfing it in darkness. Rias's face turned from fearful to boundlessly joyful; she had seen those tendrils before. Her eyes followed the tendrils to their source to see her Knight, Yuuto Kiba, standing in the broken-in hole of the club house. He was wielding not one, but two Holy Erasers; jet-black swords capable of absorbing holy and light energy via black arms that spewed from the blades.

Lux turned towards Yuuto. Her Faceless Mask transformed into a jade ring Sacred Gear wrapped around her left index finger. With a lift of her arm, numerous tree roots sprouted from the ground and attempted to ensnare Yuuto.

"Boost!"

Before they could reach him, Issei flew up and struck the angelic Doppelgänger with a mighty downward punch, sending her plummeting towards Umbra.

The roots rushing towards Yuuto immediately retracted into the ground and burrowed at high speeds toward Lux. They sprouted from the earth and weaved themselves into a hammock below the falling Doppelgänger. She crashed into the roots, which substantially lessened the impact of her fall and stopped her from smashing into Umbra.

"Boost!"

The blades of Yuuto's Holy Erasers began to chip and crack; the light energy was beginning to overtax his weapons. Despite being drained by two swords, there was still enough light energy within Umbra's barrier to break through his allies' own barriers and substantially wound them. Yuuto had a thought cross his mind.

Four more of the jet-black swords manifested beside him. "Akeno! Gasper! Both of you take two!" he shouted.

From around the edges of the hole came Akeno and Gasper. Akeno quickly grasped the hilt of two Holy Erasers. Gasper, although reluctant to do so, grabbed the other two. Akeno and Gasper pointed their blades towards Umbra and let the Holy Erasers do their magic. Just as their blades enveloped the barrier, Yuuto's blades shattered to dust.

"Boost!"

Lux's ring Gear turned into a bow made of whipping air and strung by a string of crackling lightning. She pointed it up at Issei and tugged the string of lightning, a lightning arrow manifesting as she pulled the bow back. She fired it off at him only for Issei to dodge. The arrow continued flying, eventually reaching the clouds. The skies grew dim and it began to rain.

A blue light formed below Yuuto, Akeno, and Gasper. Their hair began to stand on end. A tingly feeling rushed through the three of them. They could hear a prominent buzzing sound.

Akeno, being fond of using lightning as her main form of combat, realized what was happening. She turned her head towards Yuuto with a panicked expression on her face. "Kiba, make a lightning-eating sword!" she shouted.

Almost immediately, a golden sword with a blade much like that of a lightning bolt and a hilt fashioned after dense and cracked earth rose from the ground. Yuuto grasped the hilt and held it to the sky in the nick of time before a barrage of massive lightning bolts came down from the sky. Each bolt was like far more powerful than natural lightning, causing Yuuto to strain heavily as he kept his blade both in the air and intact. The booms of thunder were close and beyond deafening, far more so than natural thunder. The blue light below the three dissipated and Yuuto dropped to his knees. Although the storm raged on, the lightning assault was averted.

"Boost!"

Issei promptly lunged toward Lux. All he had to do was hold her off until Akeno, Yuuto, and Gasper finished their jobs.

Lux manifested a sword of light and flew up to Issei.

"Blade!"

Ascalon extended from Issei's arm. He reeled back, ready to slash at Lux. A battlecry escaped him.

Lux pulled her arm back, ready to stab at Issei. Suddenly, her head contorted to that of Rias's. "Ise, don't hurt me, please!" Lux plead with Rias's voice.

Issei's focus broke. It may have been a fake, but that voice was enough to cause Issei's concentration to waver.

Lux plunged her blade into Issei while he was in his daze. Despite Scale Mail's immense durability, the light blade plunged straight through the armor and into Issei's torso, causing blood to spew from both the wound and from Issei's mouth. An intense, burning pain coursed through his body.

"I apologize, Red Dragon Emperor; I'm just doing my job," Lux spoke with her natural voice; it was gentle and comforting, fitting for an angelic being. She tossed Issei to the side with a solemn straightness to her mouth. Lux's head contorted back to the usual hooded figure appearance.

The young Devils' were in shock; one of their most valuable assets and their dearest friend had been gravely injured. They looked on, woeful, fearful, or a mixture of both as Issei fell to the ground.

As Issei plummeted, Asia desperately rushed her way towards him, planning to heal his injury.

Seeing this, Lux prepared another light spear. "Farewell, Devil Priestess. Your fall from grace shall be swift," Lux said as she reared her arm back.

A glowing blue line and a water serpent suddenly ensnared Lux, causing her spear to dissipate. She turned to see Genshirou tethering her with Absorption Line while Sona prepared another serpent.

"Rias do it now! Use Extinguished Star!" Sona shouted before sending out another water serpent to further restrict Lux.

A rush of immense demonic energy flowed from Rias and a large, red magic circle appeared before her. Even though most were across the battlefield from Rias, the energy she exerted was felt by all. The remaining hooded adversaries turned to look towards Rias. Their injured members, who were hovering by them in their yellow barriers, turned to look as well.

* * *

"Feckin' a!" the Irish man exclaimed.

"Should we help 'em, Archmage?" the Werewolf, who seemed to have gained another robe by magical means, asked.

The figure with skeletal hands, Archmage, placed his arms behind his back. "Hybrid, play thy part: handle Rias,"

The short hooded man, Hybrid, promptly leaped towards Rias's direction.

"What 'bout us? We can go another round." the Werewolf spoke. Despite being blasted by Issei, she was up and ready to brawl again as if nothing had happen.

"Nay, Huntress. Thou, Titan, Swarmer, and Ripper hast played thy parts most well. Just watch the rest of the performance," Archmage spoke, waving his hand in disapproval. His bony hand lowered back behind him.

* * *

As Rias charged her attack, Hybrid soared through the air towards her. Sona summoned forth a flock of water hawks to intercept him. His response was beyond any of her expectations.

From Hybrid's mouth spewed a vicious inferno of pure white flames. The hawks evaporated instantly upon making contact with the flames, leaving a massive cloud of steam. Hybrid flew through the cloud, completely undeterred by his opposition.

"He breathes fire!?" Genshirou exclaimed.

With a flick of Sona's arm, chunks of earth were ripped from the ground. They hovered in the air briefly before launching themselves at Hybrid.

Hybrid's arms transformed into massive metallic bird wings. He pulled his wings up to his face, providing him with a shield from Sona's attack. The chunks of earth smashed against his wings relentlessly, creating a cloud of dirt and dust in the air. Hybrid rocketed through it, his feathers damaged and broken. His wings reverted to normal arms and he continued his approach unhindered.

"What the Hell is he?" Sona thought. She thought of only one course of action to stop this juggernaut before he got too close. "Rias!" she shouted.

Sona's shout grabbed Rias's attention immediately. Sona signaled to Rias to look up towards the imminent threat. Rias turned her gaze to see Hybrid almost upon her; she knew what she must do.

Hybrid's arm turned into a monstrous, pale arm at least ten times the size of his normal arm. He pulled his arm back, ready to strike Rias.

Right before he could get within striking range, Rias turned her magic circle towards him and let her blast fly. Although it wasn't fully charged, it should at least gravely injure the thing.

The blast made direct contact with Hybrid's torso. It carried him up into the air towards his allies. A thunderous explosion erupted from Rias's blast, engulfing Hybrid completely. A shroud of red smoke blotted the sky where Hybrid once was; he had to be dead, surely.

The dust settled.

Floating in the air, with one arm once again transformed into a wing of steel feathers keeping him in the air, was Hybrid. An entire half of his torso was blown off, but he was somehow alive. A yellow barrier engulfed him and carried him away; they had defeated Hybrid. Had he been able to reach Rias, the fight would've been lost.

The rain intensified and the winds picked up some speed. Dark clouds covered the sky, blotting the sun from sight. Lightning decorated the sky with light while thunder punished the world below with loud booms.

Before they could take advantage of the situation, the same yellow barriers engulfed the drained Lux and Umbra. The barrier completely cut off the connections Absorption Line and the Holy Erasers had on the two. The water serpents quickly evaporated in the barrier Lux was contained in. The two were carried away. The Devils looked up to see only Archmage, the twin-scythe wielder, and the Wani in fighting condition. Victory was within reach.

* * *

"Grand job eatin' that blast, lad," the Irish man, Swarmer, said with a snarky tone of voice.

"He fulfilled his part outstandingly, tiring Rias the way he didst. The performance is aye closer to its apex," Archmage spoke.

"So, when are you gonna pitch in?" the Werewolf, now known as Huntress, asked.

"Anon. Most anon. Right now, in fact," Archmage spoke. He turned to look towards the rest of Sona's Peerage; a fair amount of them seemed in prime fighting condition. He pointed towards them. "Typhoon, isolate them; I shall assay to reason with them now since they are tired. Harvest, come hither."

* * *

A massive water serpent engulfed the Wani known as Typhoon. It carried her over to Xenovia, Koneko, and the majority of Sona's Peerage on the opposite side of the battlefield. The serpent coiled around the group, spiraling into a serpentine cone before plunging its head into the top hole. The serpent immediately froze into a dense, icy prison. Rain drops from Lux's storm fell upon the serpent, causing it to shimmer and glisten like a beautiful diamond. Typhoon was frozen within the serpent's crystal-clear head, gazing down upon the trapped Devils.

The group outside the serpent began a rush to aid their allies trapped within the serpent's coils while Asia healed Issei's wounds in the back lines.

Before they could get far, Archmage and the twin-scythe wielder, Harvest, teleported in front of the serpent. The Devils prepared to fight once more.

Archmage motioned Harvest to stay before slowly hovering towards the group. "Lay down thy arms. All we do lack are the humans. We lack to try this any longer, so please allow us doth our job and we shall leave thou and this town alone. Nay human life is worth such strife," he spoke.

"The Hell do you know about life, Skeletor?" Issei asked, struggling to sit up. His Scale Mail had already removed itself; he could still fight, but he wouldn't be nearly as useful as he was before. The wound had almost completely healed, but he was still hard at breathing: coughing every so often.

" _Far more than any of thou could aye imagine_. I've seen enough to be able to weigh the worth of a person's life with yet a glance; their lives art not worth thy own. Why should'st diamonds die for such whoreson pebbles?" Archmage spoke, stopping a short distance from the Devils.

"If you think that we're going to give into your wishes after coming this far, then you haven't seen enough of life or its people," Genshirou said.

"Would I recall rightly, thou despised that Daisuke fellow for encroaching on a certain fair maiden thou wanted to claim as thy own," Archmage responded.

"What's it to you? Me and him buried that hatchet already!" Genshirou exclaimed.

"What of thou, Crimson Princess? Doth thou not worry about that Ai wench taking aroint thy Issei fellow?" Archmage asked.

"He would never do such a thing. He cares for Ai too much to rope her into a world of conflict," Rias answered, gasping for breath every so often.

"What of thou, Azure Princess? Doth thou feel so firm-set for that Daisuke fellow?" Archmage asked.

Sona didn't answer. Instead, she stared at Archmage with utmost disdain.

"But why them? What did they do that warrants mercenaries?" Rias asked.

"I't say to thou whom or why, yet I say to thou this; their success was granted to them, not earned," Archmage answered.

The Devils, for a brief moment, looked puzzled; it was not because of Archmage's dialect, but of what he was implying.

"I may have only understood that second bit, but I think I've heard enough. The Hell do ya mean by that?" Issei asked, now standing with his wound fully healed.

"The mom and dad made a pact with a Devil," Harvest answered.

"Harvest!" Archmage shouted. His voice experienced a drastic tone shift as his words thundered with a deep, imposing echo.

Harvest jumped back slightly in response to Archmage's sudden shout. "Oops. Slipped up again, didn't I? I'm so sorry," Harvest conceded.

It all made sense now. There was no logical way for two people to get that successful that quickly. There was no way Miu and Haru built that business just from sheer effort; they made a pact with a Devil to gain their success, and these mercenaries had to be their debt collectors.

Within the serpent, the Devils could see their friends fiercely chipping away at the inside of their prison. The Devils on the outside just had to hold off until their friends busted a hole through the serpent.

"We shall discuss this later. I be afeard we't let them live after hearing that; they shall compromise our client's anonymity would we let them live," Archmage spoke.

"So, you're lettin' us live?" Issei questioned. The man's dialect sent a mixed message to the dense Kuoh student.

Archmage pressed his skeletal hand against his face. "Nay, simpleton. We are going to dispatch thou and thy companions."

* * *

Issei, Rias, Sona, Genshirou, Akeno, and Yuuto prepared to fight one last fight. Asia stood to the side, ready to rush in and heal anyone who gets injured.

Gasper, who had been cowardly this whole time, walked up to the front lines much to the shock of his allies.

"I-I won't let you hurt Miss Ai or h-her family," Gasper said in defiance. His face, instead of fear-stricken, was fiercely stern. He clenched his fists, ready to fight for a change.

"Harvest, play thy part. Enjoy thyself," Archmage spoke.

"Yay!" Harvest shouted before flying at breakneck speeds towards Issei. "I wanna play with you again."

Harvest expertly spun her twin-scythe in circles as she attempted to slice Issei to ribbons.

Before the blade could scratch Issei, a glowing blue line wrapped around Harvest's swinging arm. She turned to see Genshirou attempting to drain her of power.

As Harvest's energy transferred to Genshirou, he felt a foreign, deathly aspect to it. Unable to determine its nature, he shrugged off the feeling and continued to drain Harvest.

Sona summoned a herd of water rhinoceros that manifested around Harvest and began stampeding, full-speed, at her. They closed in quickly, giving Harvest little time to react.

A child-like giggle escaped Harvest.

Suddenly, Harvest sped circles around Genshirou, wrapping him up in his own Absorption Line in very little time while slicing through a few water rhinoceros that got in her way. Genshirou could feel Absorption Line draining his own energy.

Her blinding speed left all but Issei, who had encountered her speed before, in a daze. They used the line Genshirou attached to her as a guide to her location.

"Wanna see a trick?" Harvest asked with foreboding undertones.

"No," Genshirou responded. He had a sinking feeling he knew what she was about to do.

"Alright," Harvest said with a jovial timbre. This response puzzled Genshirou, briefly distracting him from actively dissipating the line wrapped around Harvest's arm. Suddenly, she forcefully pulled the line, sending Genshirou spinning like a top. Once he reached the end of his string, Harvest began using Genshirou as a weapon. She tugged the line and took Genshirou for a spin. Genshirou's line bent around a tree and swept Sona up, wrapping her up in Genshirou's line. Sona's energy, too, began being drained.

"Saji... shut your Gear off!" Sona shouted. The line wrapped tightly around her and prevented her from breathing regularly, making her both breathless and weakened.

"But why though?" Genshirou spoke in a stupor with the last few moments of consciousness he had left; afterwards, he went out like a light. It turns out, he bashed the back of his head against the tree; that, on top of being spun like a top, rendered him heavily disoriented. Thankfully, due to his unconscious state, Absorption Line deactivated.

Sona got up; her breath was short, but she shook it off and made her way back to the action.

"Alright, Dragon Man, let's pick up were we left off," Harvest said with glee. She reeled her arm back. "Catch!" she shouted before throwing her twin-scythe like a chakram directly towards Issei.

Issei outstretched his hand.

"Hyoudou, what are you planning?" Ddraig asked.

" **I'm playin' along,** " Issei responded.

"Wha- Are you actually going to catch that?" Ddraig asked, legitimately surprised at the foolishness of Isse's remark. "You are aware that this is the same weapon that sliced through armor made from my scales like a knife through butter?

The twin-scythe continued spinning through the air.

"Ise, watch out!" Rias shouted.

Issei did not move.

"Ise!" Rias shouted once again. The spinning blades were almost upon Issei. Rias prepared to avert her eyes.

The shaft of the twin-scythe landed squarely in the palm of Issei's hand. He wrapped his fingers around it, grasping it firmly. The weapon was incredibly light despite it being much taller than Issei when placed upright.

The remaining Devils' eyes shot wide open. Issei now had possession of the very same weapon that cleaved through his Scale Mail.

Harvest hopped in place joyfully, clapping her hands while doing so. "Yay! You caught it! Now it's time to play Keep Away!" she said before rushing over to Issei. She wasn't even half as fast as before. Was this all really a game to her?

Issei, knowing and dreading what happens when he loses, immediately turned to Rias. "Prez, catch!" he shouted before tossing the twin-scythe her way.

The twin-scythe flew straight into Rias's hand.

"Just keep tossin' it to Kiba and the others. Me and Gasper are gonna try somethin'!" Issei shouted.

"I hope you know what you're doing!" Yuuto said.

"Just play her game; you'll be fine as long as she doesn't win!" Issei shouted.

Harvest turned her advance towards Rias; this time, she was a little faster.

Archmage, however, watched Issei and Gasper. He stood there and did nothing, only observing with his hands placed behind his back.

* * *

Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Yuuto took turns tossing the twin-scythe to one another. With each catch, Harvest sped up. A plan of action had to be made quickly before she caught up with her playmates.

Gasper and Issei huddled together to make a plan to deal with the speedy swordswoman.

"What are we going to do, Issei?" Gasper asked.

"Well, we shouldn't try to attack her without a plan. She's too quick to fight with brute force; I learned that the hard way. What I'm thinkin' of doin' is givin' you some of my blood," Issei answered.

"W-Wait, are you sure about this?" Gasper asked. He held his hands up to his mouth.

"You are a vampire, right?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Gasper answered with a nod.

"You guys get stronger after drinkin' blood, right?" Issei asked yet again.

"Yes," Gasper answered with another nod.

"Well... I was thinkin' since I have a Heavenly Dragon in me, you'd get a crazy assload of power from drinkin' some of my blood. I ain't in any shape to fight that girl; I can't even use Boosted Gear since I already used my Scale Mail," Issei explained.

"A-Are you really sure I can take her on?" Gasper asked. He shifted his eyes to the ground. "You said she nearly killed you in no time at all. How can I fight someone like that?"

"Listen dude," Issei began, putting a hand on his shoulder and waving his other hand in front of his face to draw Gasper's eyes back to him. "The main thing she's got is speed. You have time-stoppin' powers; that gets rid of her speed. You take my blood, use Balor View, go apeshit on her, go apeshit on Skeletor over there, then we win. You've got this."

"I-I...I," Gasper stuttered.

"Buddy, think of what is on the line right now. Our lives. The lives of Daisuke and Ai, the lives of Miu and Haru, the lives of Ren and Ran. They are all on the line here. If we lose, not only would we die, but the Kasais would die as well. I'm gonna need you to step up, bud: for their everyone's sake," Issei spoke.

"What about Mister Ryuusuke?" Gasper asked.

An expression of mild resentment befell Issei's face. "Yes, him too."

"Alright, I'll do my best," Gasper said.

Issei extended the arm bearing Boosted Gear out to Gasper. The Sacred Gear morphed back into Issei's normal arm to allow Gasper to get at the blood beneath his flesh.

Gasper bit down on Issei's arm, making him wince in pain as Gasper did so. The blood flowed from Issei's veins and into Gasper's body.

Suddenly, a massive surge of power erupted from Gasper, causing Harvest to turn her attention to him.

* * *

Gasper stood his ground: fists clenched, teeth grit, and eyes bearing a fierce glare trained exclusively on Harvest.

"Ooo, he looks fun," Harvest said before rushing over to Sona: who currently had her twin-scythe. "I might need this, thank you." She took her weapon and rushed towards Gasper at high speed. She swung her scythe at Gasper only to hit air.

A swarm of bats surrounded her. Their eyes glowed with an intense light, stopping time for all but Gasper. Gasper reverted a portion of his bat swarm back into his normal form. He conjured up a dome of at least fifty elemental spells all primed to obliterate Harvest. With a close of his hand, the spells struck the swordswoman all in unison. Time returned to normal and Harvest collapsed to the ground. She was alive, but gravely injured. A yellow barrier formed over Harvest and carried her away.

"Ow," Harvest said weakly as she was carried away.

"Thou played thy part well. Rest well, little one," Archmage spoke, sounding woeful with his tone of voice.

Now only Archmage stood in their way. With Typhoon preoccupied with isolating their friends, the young Devils had to only face one more enemy.

The eyes of Gasper's bats shone once more, freezing time yet again. Gasper unleashed a hail of spells much like with Harvest; he wanted to end this now. The spells flew towards Archmage.

Not a single one reached him; he was protected by a barrier of his own.

"What?" Gasper thought. A sudden pain pulsed through his head, causing him to quiver and fall to his knees. A voice rang through his head.

"Thou may hast restrained time, yet thou't forbear effects happening to thou in that instant. I induced a head-splitting migraine upon thou the moment thy eyes turned to me. Submit to the pain and restore time," the voice of Archmage spoke. Each word intensified Gasper's migraine until the pain was so great, he was forced to deactivate his Forbidden Balor View.

* * *

Time returned to normal. Archmage stood untouched while Gasper and his bats wallowed in pain on the ground. A look of visible confusion was plastered on the young Devils' faces.

"What just happened?" Sona thought, completely flabbergasted by the fact that Gasper came out of stopped time the only one in pain.

"Gasper!" Issei, Asia, and Rias shouted before running over to the suffering Dhampir's side. Yuuto, Sona, and Akeno made their way to their sides and prepared to take matters into their own hands.

"Tis bootless to resist. Look yonder," Archmage spoke before raising an arm from behind his back. He pointed over to his allies in their barriers.

* * *

The Devils looked up. Their hearts sank once again. All the effort put into wearing them down was reduced to nothing. There, their enemies stood: invigorated and repaired within their own bubbles. Even Hybrid, after having half of his body destroyed not just ten minutes ago, had substantially recovered from his wounds.

"N-No," Akeno stuttered quietly. Huntress was now spry and ready to fight once more. She looked down at Akeno and hopped from side to side, eager to get back into the thick of combat.

"You can't be serious," Issei muttered. Lux and Umbra, even after being drained of so much power, seemed ready to fight as if nothing had happened to them whatsoever. The two glared down upon the Devils with their unholy red and black eyes.

"This isn't good," Yuuto whispered as he looked up at the Germanic man, Titan. His maces were once again in his possession as he stood with the rigidity of stone.

"Healing barriers?" Sona spoke with a defeated tone. She collapsed to her knees while the folly of her errors rang in her head. "We fought too cautiously."

"Yes, thou should'st hast been bolder. 'Twere unwise of thou to allow us retreat," Archmage spoke not in a mocking manner, but a stoic one.

"Ddraig, ya there dude? Kinda need some help here," Issei thought.

"You've already overtaxed your body, Hyoudou. I can't provide any more aid," Ddraig spoke.

"Yeah, I thought so. We're kinda fucked then, right?" Issei thought.

"Are you going to go out with a whimper or a roar?" Ddraig responded. It seems he, too, saw no chance of victory.

"To Hell with layin' down and dyin'; I'm gonna fight 'til the end," Issei answered. Despite being unable to use his Boosted Gear now, he still bore a lot of fire in his spirit.

"A noble choice. Let this be our last battle together, Hyoudou," Ddraig spoke.

The Devils prepared for their final stand against Archmage. There was no possibility of victory for them; they were battered and tired after a long fight, their friends were not even halfway through Typhoon's ice serpent, and a whole new round against their recently defeated enemies awaited them even if they miraculously defeated Archmage. Death was the only result for the young Devils.

* * *

A sudden beam of energy burst from behind the Devils and pierced through the serpent, causing the beautiful ice sculpture to shatter and crumble into a display of flying ice chips and shards.

The beam struck right where Typhoon was resting: in the frozen head of the serpent. The blast left her burnt and heavily injured. A yellow barrier formed around her and quickly carried her to her allies.

Tomoe, Tsubaki, and Ruruko attempted to intersect the barrier's path only to be stopped by a massive earthen wall that rose from the ground.

The Devils and the hooded mercenaries turned to look at the source of the blast. Floating just above the club house stood the savior, the silver-haired and red-eyed maid: Grayfia Lucifuge. Her Demonic energy resonated across the battlefield and her otherwise gentle gaze was, instead, piercingly serious.

"Grayfia..." Rias said with quiet hope.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to harm Rias or anyone she deems a friend," Grayfia said. Her dress fluttered in the wind of the still-brewing storm.

"Die Silberhaarig Königin von Vernichtung—The Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation—has reared her head," the Germanic psychic, Titan, spoke. The energy he felt from Grayfia sent reverance through the man.

"Ya sure this is how it's suppose t' go?" Huntress asked, a look of uncertainty on her face.

"Archmage knows what he is doing. He's seen it all through, remember?" Titan answered. He crossed his arms and slouched in his bubble. "The moment he starts to worry, he will let me know. Until then, relax and do as he tells you and this whole Aufführung should go by perfectly."

Grayfia floated her way down to the young Devils and stood before Archmage. Her demonic energy conflicted with the overwhelming energy of Archmage. A silent standstill was held between the two.

* * *

Suddenly, dozens of magic circles appeared above Archmage and began pelting him with numerous explosive orbs.

Archmage dragged his skeletal fingers through the air and tore a rift in space, devouring Grayfia's attack. He waved his hand yet again and a rift appeared before him. The light of Grayfia's attack could be seen through the inky blackness of the rift's void.

Grayfia immediately deployed a barrier around her and the young Devils. The blasts pelted the barrier, but failed to break through it. A cloud of dust and dirt was kicked up, preventing those inside the barrier from seeing anything outside.

The Devils previously held back by Typhoon attempted to rush in and aid against Archmage.

Numerous semi-transparent clones of Archmage began tearing themselves from his body before frantically flying towards the Devils.

Tsubasa and Koneko attempted to strike the clones only to have their attempts literally blow up in their faces; the clones were bombs.

Momo and Reya attempted to detonate them with ranged magic attacks only to have the clones fire powerful elemental spells back at them. The attacks overwhelmed the young Devils' magic and battered them into submission.

Ruruko, Tomoe, and Xenovia deftly avoided the clones and their attacks, eventually reaching Archmage himself. As they prepared their own attacks, a mighty pulse of force exploded from Archmage and sent them flying back.

The dust around the barrier cleared, but Grayfia was no longer in the barrier.

The silver-haired maid fell from the sky and smashed her heel against Archmage's barrier. The force exerted by Sirzech's Queen was enough to shatter the barrier protecting Archmage.

As Grayfia crashed through his barrier, Archmage reached out and grabbed Grayfia's leg with a hand enveloped in dark magic. He began draining Grayfia's power and adding it to his own.

Grayfia spun around and delivered a kick to Archmage's head, causing him to lose his grip on her leg. She flipped away from Archmage and prepared another spell while the powerful mage recovered from her kick. She fired her magic at Archmage.

Archmage extended his arm and spun around, taking Grayfia's attack with him. He threw her spell right back at her with full force.

Grayfia intercepted with another spell. The two smashed together, creating an explosion.

Grayfia flew through the dust and attempted to strike Archmage only to go straight through him as if he was air. The force of her strike dispersed the dust. She looked up to see numerous semi-transparent clones of Archmage. They fired down blue lightning upon Grayfia while one of them charged up an orb of densely concentrated energy.

Grayfia rose the earth around her to block the lightning. She used a warp spell to appear behind the clone charging up the orb and smashed her fist against it, causing it to dissipate. She flew around at high speeds, striking the rest of the clones as they attempted to strike her with their blue lightning. Once they had all dissipated, she returned to the ground. Grayfia turned to see Archmage standing before her.

"I see you are well versed in magic. I would like to know your name before I return you to the dirt," Grayfia spoke with a hand on her hip.

"I hie by a moniker: Archmage," Archmage responded.

"You wear that title well; it's such a shame you had to be my opponent, though," Grayfia said. More of her demonic energy erupted from her body, greatly overwhelming the energy of Archmage; she had been holding back.

"'Twere a spectacle, yet I shall be thy opponent nay longer; I am outmatched as it stands," Archmage spoke. His voice was calm despite being tasked with fighting Grayfia.

"So, you're surrendering?" Grayfia asked. She placed her hands down by her waist.

"For this bout, yes; yet we will be back another day to fulfill our mission," Archmage answered.

"Do you really believe I'm going to let you and your posse get away after what you've done here?" Grayfia asked with a gentle, yet superficial smile to mask the grim nature of her words.

"Yes," Archmage spoke in bold defiance.

* * *

Grayfia prepared herself for another fight.

A massive magic circle appeared behind Archmage. He outstretched his arms.

"Join forth, deific beast of the forest. Lay waste to our opposition and the homes they built. May thy might leave nought behind yet embers and scorched meat!" Archmage chanted.

A fierce, violent roar could be heard from the magic circle.

The roar caused Ddraig great discomfort; he knew exactly what it was. "Hyoudou, we need to get out of here immediately!" Ddraig spoke.

"What's goin' on?" Issei responded.

"Just get your friends and get as far away from here as you possibly can before it comes out of the circle!" Ddraig exclaimed.

"We can't leave our town to burn," Issei responded.

"There's nothing we can do! Just run!" Ddraig urged.

A second roar rang from within the circle; this time, it was louder and strong enough to halt the fall of the storm's raindrops in the area around the circle.

Archmage enveloped himself in a yellow barrier. "I wish thou the best fortune," Archmage spoke before he and his allies vanished in a bright light.

* * *

A massive, beastly hand clad in orange fur smashed through the circle. It furiously pulled itself from the circle, revealing an equally enormous and muscular orange fur-clad arm. Its massive black claws dug deep into the earth below. It pulled more and more, revealing a massive bear-like head holding sword-length teeth in its mouth. Adorning the head were human-sized ram-like horns, black fur, and soul-piercing green eyes; a scar ran down its left eye. It roared, growled, and grunted ferociously as it furiously clawed its way out of the circle. Its torso, while hairless around the chest, was nothing but a hunk of muscle and orange fur. It pulled itself forward, revealing smaller hind legs that were toned with powerful muscles. Once free, it stood up to be about twice the height of a giraffe. It let loose one more ferocious roar, stopping the rain around it with its very shockwaves.

The young Devils cowered before the beast; even Grayfia took a few steps back.

"This is it. We're dead for sure," Ddraig spoke.

"W-What the Hell is that thing?" Issei asked.

"A Humbaba," Ddraig responded.

* * *

 _ **Well, here we go again with another cliffhanger.**_

 _ **That's right, this entire chapter is just one big fight. Not sure how well I wrote the action, but I look forward to your critiques. This chapter may have been the hardest one for me to write: what with all the choreography and whatnot.**_

 ** _ **Next chapter will have more combat, but it won't be another chapter of just fighting.**_**

 ** _ **With this chapter, we've finally reached the 100,000 word count milestone. It may not be a big deal to some of you readers and/or writers, but I can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction**_** ** _ **from this accomplishment**_** ** _ **.**_**


	17. Volume 2:Life 5

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _ **Brain Versus Brawn**_** ** _ **!**_** ** _ **The Beauty and Her Beast!**_**

With the arrival of the powerful Grayfia Lucifuge, the mercenary group tasked with offing the Kasai family were forced to retreat from her might. Before they left, a mighty mage known by the title of Archmage conjured a ferocious beast of such power, even the Heavenly Dragon Ddraig feared the worst and urged retreat. Battered and tired from a hard-fought battle, the young Devils now have to rely on Grayfia to fend off the creature; but will she even be able to phase a creature that earns reverence from Ddraig himself?

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House Backyard, 12:00 PM****

The heavy rain of Lux's storm pelted the battlefield, the winds swept through the trees in an attempt at uprooting them from the ground, lightning decorated the sky in blinding light, and thunder terrorized the land with fearsome blasts of sound. None of this, however, held a candle to the might and terrifying aura of the beast, the Humbaba, standing before the Devils.

It roared once more; the rain around it, as if fearful of the beast as well, stopped falling around it for that moment. Its very voice sounded like the embodiment of brutality, making even the mighty roars of Dragons seem more like a kitten's meow in comparison. The wind that pushed the trees around like a bully on the playground only caused the orange fur on the Humbaba's body and the black fur on its head to sway with an energy of defiance. It's green eyes pierced the dark more so than the lightning and the very growls of the beast exhaling put the accompanying thunder to shame.

"Get out of here," Grayfia said quietly, hoping to not provoke the beast just yet. "I'll hold it off as best as I can."

"We can't just leave you here," Rias spoke.

"Rias, there's nothing you or your friends can do against this creature; it is far beyond your power, maybe even beyond mine," Grayfia refuted urgently with a stern look in her eyes.

Rias and Sona signaled to their Peerage members on the other side of the battlefield to run. They complied without a second thought. Koneko, Tomoe, and Xenovia fled into the woods as a group. Momo and Reya paired up and fled. Ruruko, Tsubasa, and Tsubaki flew into the woods as a trio.

The beast got down on all fours and began charging at Grayfia. It's hands smashed against the ground with incredible strength, causing the ground around each hand to cave and crack. Saliva flew from its maw as it gnashed its teeth.

The young Devils behind Grayfia scattered in various directions. Issei carried the pained Gasper while Asia clung to his back. Sona plucked the currently unconscious Genshirou from the ground and went into the woods with him. Rias, Akeno, and Yuuto fled in a group. Grayfia was now alone with the Humbaba.

Grayfia fired a powerful volley of explosive orbs at the Humbaba from a series of magic circles behind her, hoping to at least slow down the creature.

The beast didn't even make an attempt at dodging or blocking her attack. It took every blast head-on and kept on coming without so much as a scratch on its hide.

Grayfia took to the skies in hopes of staying out of the beast's reach.

The Humbaba leaped into the air and snatched Grayfia out of the sky with a massive clawed hand as she ascended before smashing her into the ground and pinning her under its hand. It gripped her tight before violently slamming her against the ground. Its vicious assault continued as it dragged Grayfia through the earth and threw her through a series of thick trees. It roared in victory, stopping the rain around it once again with shock waves, before sniffing the air. The Humbaba promptly dashed off into the woods on all fours, toppling and trampling tree after tree in its warpath.

* * *

Rias, Akeno, and Yuuto flew through the woods to escape the clutches of the fearsome Humbaba. Suddenly, Rias stopped her flying.

"President, we need to go," Yuuto urged. His teeth grit and eyes widened with fear.

"But I can't leave Grayfia behind. I can't let her die for our sake," Rias refuted.

"If we don't hurry up, her sacrifice will be in vain," Akeno said.

"If I just charge up Extinguished Star again, I might be able to give Grayfia an opening," Rias said as she attempted to turn back.

Yuuto grabbed her arm. "How can you be sure that your attack could even faze it?" Yuuto asked. "You're powerful, but there's a reason those things are called Nature's Dragon Slayers."

"Well, I have to-" Rias began.

Crashing through a nearby tree with an almost demented aggression, the Humbaba set its sights on the three.

Fear gripped their hearts and Rias's bravado faded to nothing.

"But that means..." Rias thought. Her heart sank and a tear welled up in her eye.

Yuuto tugged Rias along with him, snapping Rias out of her daze. She went along with her Knight and Queen and fled as fast as they could.

The Humbaba chased them down on all fours, roaring with primal rage. While the three Devils had to waste time and energy going around each and every tree in their path, the Humbaba waded through the trees as if they were mere blades of grass: leaving a path of splintered wood and toppled trunks.

The three Devils tried to take to a higher elevation to escape the beast's range.

The Humbaba lunged at them much like with Grayfia, hoping to snatch them from the sky.

"Look out!" Yuuto shouted.

The three Devils took a sharp turn to the left, evading the Humbaba's attempt at grabbing them. It roared furiously as it went crashing back to the ground. They took off higher into the air, stopping just above the trees and continued fleeing.

The crunching of wood was heard and the canopy below them shook violently. Suddenly, a tree blew through the sea of green leaves. It struck them directly and carried them across the woodlands.

As they were whisked away through the heavy rain and into a distant section of the woods, the beast roared once more before rushing in the direction of the flying tree.

* * *

Issei flew through the woods, carrying Gasper and Asia along with him. Gasper, still suffering slightly from the migraine Archmage induced upon him, squirmed and groaned a fair bit in Issei's arms.

"What are we going to do if Grayfia can't beat that monster?" Asia asked, a tear welled up in her eye as she clung to Issei like her life depended on it; she was scared out of her wits.

"I'm not sure. Hold on a sec," Issei answered. He turned to Ddraig for guidance. "Can ya give me the download on this thing?"

"You remember Anzûs?" Ddraig asked.

"The giant storm bird with a brain smarter than the average rotisserie chicken?" Issei responded.

"Think of Humbabas as their counterparts; they boast immense physical might and near impenetrable hide, but little to no magic capabilities and are dumb enough to make even you look like a professional rocket-scientist. They are driven mainly by instinct, adrenaline, and rage and will not back down from a fight even when faced by opponents as strong as Dragons," Ddraig spoke.

"So all we gotta do is play it smart?" Issei asked.

"The smartest thing to do right now is to run. None of your or your friends' attacks can even damage its skin," Ddraig warned, shutting down any of Issei's ideas for an assault on the beast.

"The Hell do we do then?" Issei asked.

"This storm may be our only hope," Ddraig answered.

"So what? Is it gonna fight the clouds for hittin' it with lightning?" Issei asked.

"Yes, it will do that if such an event occurs; but that was not what I was getting at. Another thing about Anzûs is that they are attracted to strong storms as they are synonymous with their mating seasons. If we're lucky, one may come to our aid," Ddraig spoke.

"Do ya really think anything smarter than a rock is gonna go anywhere near that thing?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Ddraig answered with a strong sureness. "Anzûs and Humbabas are natural rivals and clash fairly often. They are both apex predators. Between these two species, there is no predator: only prey. In a one-on-one fight between the two, there is an even chance for either being victorious. If the Anzû wins, it will most likely fly off to rest and digest its meal; if the Humbaba wins, it will eat its opponent and go on a warpath, destroying anything that moves within its territory."

"So we have to hold out for a bird to save us? And even then, it's a coin flip if we survive or not?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Ddraig answered.

Overhead, a tree flew by. Issei suddenly stopped to look up.

"The Hell?" Issei said with a hushed voice.

"I think I saw Akeno in that," Asia noted.

"Damn, it got to them?" Issei thought. "Hold on tight," he said to Asia before hastening his pace towards the direction of the flying tree.

* * *

After hastily wading through the uncharted woods while carrying a hefty amount of dead weight, Sona had to take some time to catch her breath by a tree. She plopped Genshirou down by her as she rested.

Sona sighed as she rested her head against the trunk of a tree. "Out of all the things they could've conjured, why did it have to be a Humbaba?" she asked the air before turning her head towards her unconscious Pawn. An oppressing void culminated in her heart. She barely had a will to move anymore.

"I'm rather envious of you right now, Saji; you don't have to experience this terror before you die. I say that because I don't see anyway we're going to get out of this alive. We can traverse the woods all we want, but we don't know where we're going this deep in while that Humbaba can just track us down by scent alone. We can try to take to the skies and fly off towards a safe haven, but that will just make us easy targets for the Humbaba to pick from the sky at any moment. Even if we do somehow escape, that monster will claim these woodlands as its territory and will eventually destroy all of Kuoh once it gets hungry," she spoke. Tears welled up in her eyes as the rain pelted her and decorated her glasses with little orbs of water.

"This is my fault; I shouldn't have fallen for the Rias decoy. Now, due to my oversight, we're all going to die. It has probably already devoured Lucifuge and is now hunting us down one-by-one like deer," Sona said, tears now streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, my Peerage; I'm proud to have been King to such pleasant and hardworking members of society. I'm sorry, sister; though you may be insufferable sometimes, I could never bring myself to despise you. I'm sorry, Kasais; I made a promise to myself to protect you, but failed. I'm sorry, Rias; you have been one of the closest friends I have ever had in my life," Sona spoke. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes, letting go of all her regrets and all her sorrow. Seeing no escape from this beast, Sona accepted her fate. One more person came to mind. "Most of all, I'm sorry-"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard directly overhead. Sona's eyes shot open before she looked up to see an uprooted tree hanging above her, caught between the sturdier branches of the neighboring trees. In the tree, she saw Akeno, Yuuto, and Rias. All three of them were unconscious after having a tree launched at them.

Sona wiped the tears from her eyes. She gathered what little resolve she had left to fly up and untangle the three from the branches that bound them to the fallen plant. She carried them over, one-by-one, to where she placed Genshirou.

"It seems it got to them too. It's only a matter of time until it picks us off," Sona spoke. She plopped back against the tree and waited for the beast to come and end them.

The hurried shifting of leaves and branches were heard within the woods beyond Sona's vision. She closed her eyes and embraced death. "I'm sorry..."

From out of the foliage flew Issei, Gasper, and Asia.

"There they are," Asia said while pointing to Sona and the rest of the unconscious Devils.

Sona's eyes shot open after hearing Asia's voice. She looked over to the source to find the three flying towards her.

Issei landed in front of Sona and put Gasper down. Asia rushed over to the unconscious group lying close together and went to work on healing them.

"Hyoudou? You three are still alive?" Sona asked.

"Yep..." Issei began, taking note of Sona's watered up eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm fine; it's just the rain," Sona said, trying her hardest not to lose her composure in front of someone conscious.

"I've got some good news," Issei said.

"What could possibly deter the dire nature of this situation?" Sona asked. Her eyes sunk to the ground, hopeless.

"Ddraig said that a storm bird thing might save us," Issei said.

"You mean an Anzû? What luck do we have that merits the possibility of that rare a creature to come to our aid?" Sona asked, highly skeptical of Issei's claims. "It is a rare sight to even see one sighting in a lifetime, finding a second one is therefor even less likely."

"Well, it is a gamble; but it's a gamble I'm willin' to take if it means we at least stand a chance against that thing," Issei answered. "How good are you with weather magic?"

"I'm fairly decent with it; but I don't think I will be enough to attract an Anzû," Sona answered.

"That's why we need Akeno to help you out. Speakin' of which..." Issei said before turning towards Asia's direction. "How's Akeno holdin' up?"

"She's a little dazed, but she should be fine," Asia answered.

"Yes!" Issei exclaimed as he excitedly pumped his arm. Despite the dire situation at hand, he still managed to form a large smile spanning the entirety of his face. "We might be able to get through this! My titty-grabbin' days may not be over yet!"

"You never change, do you?" Akeno asked with an endearing smile as she emerged from her stupor.

With Akeno now up and ready, the plan to summon forth their own beast was put into motion. Sona and Akeno stood side-by-side, utilizing whatever energy they had left to intensify the already powerful storm left behind by Lux. The sky got even darker; the wind blew even harder; the rain fell even quicker; the lightning struck even brighter; the thunder boomed even louder. This was their final gambit.

* * *

This outburst of demonic energy reached across the woods, snatching the attention of Momo and Reya. The two stopped and turned towards the source of the energy.

"Is that President's energy?" Reya asked.

"And Akeno's?" Momo added. "What are they doing?"

It seemed odd why Sona and Akeno would be drawing so much attention to themselves with a Humbaba running about. The two noticed how much harder the rain fell upon their heads and how much more violently the trees swayed in the wind. A realization struck Momo.

"I see now. This storm wasn't this strong before." Momo said.

"Are they doing what I think they are?" Reya asked.

"You mean luring an Anzû?" Momo replied, turning her head towards Reya.

Reya nodded as confirmation.

"That would seem to be the only reason they would make this storm any worse," Momo stated.

Worry quickly caught up with Reya and fear gripped her face. "This storm is going to tear the entire town apart," she fretted.

"It's probably the best hope we have; I say it's worth it." Momo said before putting her hands to the sky. "We may not have much training with weather magic, but we have to make this storm work in our favor even if is does damage the town. It's better than having a Humbaba live right next to it."

Reya followed Momo's lead and put her hands to the sky as well. "I suppose you're right. The town can rebuild itself after a storm; a Humbaba will leave nothing alive or standing."

With their added efforts, the storm, albeit slightly, intensified even further.

* * *

Ruruko, Tsubasa, and Tsubaki managed to reach the outskirts of the woods. There, they headed up along a trail leading to their mountainous training grounds in their attempts at getting as far from the Humbaba as they could. Three quarters along the path, Ruruko and Tsubaki rested the exhausted and wounded Tsubasa on the ground and propped her up against the side of a mountain below the face of a cliff. Looking out from the mountain, the three could see the entire woodland area. The once serene woods were scarred with long lines of destroyed foliage resulting from the Humbaba's fury and damaged earth where their battle with the hooded mercenaries took place.

"This is not good. This is not good," Tsubaki repeated as she paced in circles. She gazed off out into the woods with worried, shuttered eyes and hands held close to her chest. Her heart hastened and she began stammering on her words the more she repeated herself.

"I can't believe it; those damn cowards actually doomed this whole town for the sake of one mission," Ruruko said. She ran her hands through her hair and grit her teeth.

"Well-" Tsubasa began, raising a finger as she did so.

"I don't give a damn if their souls were on the line. They shouldn't be making promises like that just as a business gimmick; it's a stupid idea at best and suicide at worst," Ruruko barked at Tsubasa. Looking down at her injured friend, her furious expression toned down. "I'm sorry. I'm just mad at this whole situation. We had them right where we wanted them, then that damn bone guy had to flip us the bird as he left; now the town is fucked."

Ruruko took note of the strengthened winds, almost getting blown off the trail by a stray gust. The sounds of thunder and the flash of lightning accompanied the gust. "What's with this damn weather? I don't remember it being this bad earlier," she said.

A large shadow loomed over Tsubasa. A chill ran down her spine as she slowly looked up. Above her were only black clouds. Where was the shadow coming from then?

A flash of lightning illuminated the sky above her, revealing a massive avian head poking out from the cliff above her.

A panicked yelp escaped Tsubasa, causing the other two to look towards her. They took note of her staring up to the sky and did the same only to see darkness. Lightning once again illuminated the dark to reveal a massive black bird with its wings spread out like a cloak of shadows. Several bolts of lightning struck the bird directly, illuminating it with a bright blue hue. Upon its head lied three distinguishable crest feathers now alight with a fading blue color, electric blue eyes glowing with the vibrancy of lightning, and a glistening silver beak; an Anzû had appeared.

The three stood there, paralyzed and hearts sunken, until Tsubaki had a realization. The empty void of hopelessness in her was quickly filled with brimming joy. She focused her attention on the bird's gaze and noticed it was fixated on the woodlands below. She quickly turned back to the woods and noticed the violent toppling of trees in the distance. The Humbaba was in its sights.

"Yes," Tsubaki whispered, a smile formed on her face. She forced herself to hold in the near irrepressible wave of energy that surged through her as to not startle or antagonize the bird.

The Anzû took off towards the rumbling trees, thunder sounding with every flap of its massive wings. Hope was revived; a hero had arrived in the form of black wings and silver talons. Soon would begin adecisive clash of beasts: brain versus brawn. The fate of Kuoh and its people rode on this single battle.

* * *

Koneko, Tomoe, and Xenovia rushed through the woods in their attempts to escape the Humbaba. At anytime, the beast could burst from the cover of the trees and demolish them.

"We can't keep running forever," Xenovia said. She stopped her flying and positioned herself in the branches of a nearby tree.

Tomoe and Koneko both stopped and flew over to Xenovia.

"There isn't much of anything we can do against that thing. Running is our only option," Tomoe refuted as she made her way over to her blue-haired ally.

"There has to be a weakness that we can exploit," Xenovia argued. "We can try taking out its senses."

"Then what? Hit it some more and die?" Koneko snapped. She flew over and stood beside Xenovia on the tree. "Face it: we can't win."

"This beast is no different from a wild animal; like a wild animal, it can be bested by intellect," Xenovia argued once again.

Koneko put a hand on Xenovia's shoulder and stared her blankly in the eyes. " **It. Is. A. Humbaba. We. Can't. Even. Scratch. It.** "

"Toujou has a point; that, and you aren't…well...good at thinking ahead in a fight," Tomoe added.

"Then what do you suppose we do, Meguri?" Xenovia asked. Her eyes narrowed as she looked towards Sona's Knight.

"I...uh...well," Tomoe stuttered. She knew that there was no possible way for them to combat the beast, but she didn't want to leave the town at the mercy of it nor did she want to admit her hopelessness. She stared down at the ground, conflicted.

Groaning was heard somewhere down below; it sounded feminine. The three looked towards the source to see a few toppled trees shifting around. The trees tumbled over to reveal the silver-haired Grayfia. She was stumbling and bore a few cuts and bruises, which was a lucky break considering the Humbaba's violent assault against her.

"Grayfia!?" the three young Devils exclaimed. They flew down towards the powerful maid to help her catch her balance.

Tomoe grasped one of Grayfia's arms to help her retain balance. "Are you okay?"

"Goodness, it's deceptively quick for such a bulky behemoth," Grayfia remarked. Her speech was slightly slurred to accompany her dizziness.

"Did you manage to hurt it?" Xenovia asked as she grasped Grayfia's other arm to help her balance.

"Not in the slightest, I'm afraid. It bulldozed through my attacks without a care," Grayfia said. Her words weren't as slurred this time; her dizziness was dissipating quickly.

"See what I mean?" Koneko asked Xenovia. "We can't fight it,"

"Can't you contact Sirzechs?" Xenovia asked Grayfia.

"We can't do that; he'll destroy the entire town in the process," Tomoe refutted.

"We can't save them, Meguri," Koneko said.

"I'm afraid your friend is right; Sirzechs has to fell this beast, even if the town must go as well. Humbabas are invasive and highly territorial; it will level this town and go on to the next once its resources expire," Grayfia said. Her dazed stupor faded and she was able to stand on her own.

Tomoe closed her eyes. She couldn't believe this was how it was to be. A sigh of defeat escaped her. Maybe, if they were lucky, Sirzechs would only destroy a part of Kuoh on accident so the town could hopefully be rebuilt. The lives, however, would be lost forever.

Xenovia grit her teeth. She didn't want to accept it, but there was no way to save Kuoh and its inhabitants from this monstrosity. She had half a mind to rush in and try to take on the beast herself in a fit of fruitless defiance, but a taste of primal fear at the thought drove her away from doing so.

Suddenly, a massive shadow flew overhead and the trees around the Devils swayed heavily as if forced upon by a violent breeze stronger than those of the storm. The Devils looked up to see a large, black feather flutter down to them. The four Devils' eyes shot wide open.

"No way," the three younger Devils spoke in unison.

"A feather?" Grayfia noted with a hushed voice and confused tone. She attempted to pick up the feather only to receive a weak electric shock to her index finger. "An Anzû..." she whispered once more, but with a voice that displayed a sense of clarity. Her gaze became intense and a strong flame burned inside her once more. "We have to follow it. Come on."

* * *

Back to Sona and Akeno, who were putting everything they can into making the storm more powerful. As they did their work, Issei and Asia got to work getting Rias, Yuuto, Genshirou, and Gasper back up on their feet.

Loud, thunderous rumbling could be heard from within the woods. The sounds of snapping wood and tumbling trees can only mean one thing; the Humbaba approaches. Issei urges Asia to stay back and accompany the others while he does what he can to distract the beast. The thunderous rumbling grew louder and louder before a violent explosion of wood and dirt erupted from the woods. There, in the cloud of dirt on all fours, was the beast itself. It stood up on its two hind legs, menacingly sizing up its prey, before letting out another fearsome roar, almost sending Issei flying back from the shock waves alone.

Issei sprouted his wings and took to the air before promoting himself to a Queen. All he has to do is distract the Humbaba, not fight it.

The Humbaba shot upwards, attempting to snatch Issei out of the air as it did with Grayfia and failed with Rias, Yuuto, and Akeno.

Issei evaded the beast's attempt. "Hey, you big hairy dumbass, eyes on the prize!" Issei shouted as he waved his arms violently to anger the Humbaba.

The Humbaba roared in rage, sending a blazing inferno from its mouth and towards Issei. His taunting seemed to work a little too well.

Issei narrowly evaded the flames spewing from the vicious beast's maw. His eyes shot open, he almost couldn't feel the icy chill in his blood as the flames flew by him. "Another fuckin' walkin' flamethrower!?" he exclaimed. As he flew around, the Humbaba spewed more and more flames from its mouth until the woods around it were consumed by a raging inferno.

The smoke that rose into the sky was seen by the Devils both currently in the woods and on the mountain trail. Some were too fearful to head towards the source, but Grayfia and those who accompanied her were willing to dive into the fray. They made their way towards the smoke, being careful not to outpace the Anzû: their only hope of victory.

The Humbaba uprooted a large chunk of the earth below it with just the brute strength held in a single arm and hurled it at Issei with wild abandon. It proceeded to pick up more ground and chuck it at Rias's Pawn.

Issei barely managed to dodge the first chunk of earth thrown at him due to its sheer size alone. He watched as the massive chunk of land crashed into and drowned the woods behind him in a sea of dust and dirt. As he gawked, the second chunk of tossed earth struck him and sent him plummeting to the ground.

As Issei fell, the Humbaba ran at him quadrupedally and prepared to gore him with its massive ram-like horns.

"Ise!" Rias shouted. She desperately threw magic orbs imbued with her Power of Destruction. The orbs struck the beast, but did not harm it whatsoever.

Akeno broke her concentration on manipulating the weather in favor of striking the beast with her own lightning spells. None of the bolts had any effect on the Humbaba. Light crackles of electricity were seen in its horns.

As the Humbaba neared Issei, it lowered its head to ram the falling Devil full-force. With such speed and power behind its charge, Issei was bound to wind up like a bug splattered on a windshield.

A sudden bolt of mighty electricity struck the side of the Humbaba, sending it rolling sideways and allowing Issei to crash to the ground with non-fatal injuries. The Humbaba and he looked towards the source of the lightning.

There, riding on great wings, was an Anzû; but this wasn't just any Anzû.

Issei took notice of the scarred right eye. "Oh shit," he whispered.

"What, Hyoudou?" Ddraig asked.

"That's the same death bird from the Ogre fight," Issei answered.

"What is it doing back here?" Ddraig asked.

"Maybe wantin' to pay us back for the meal we brought it," Issei remarked.

* * *

The Humbaba roared ferociously, to which the Anzû let loose a shrill screech of its own. The Humbaba released a plume of flame from its mouth in an attempt to toast the Anzû.

The Anzû released a water jet from its mouth. The water put out the flames while the flames evaporated the water, creating a cloud of mist where their attacks met.

Powerful bolts of lightning shot out from the cloud of mist, striking the Humbaba's chest and sending it careening back towards Rias and Sona. The two quickly got out of the beast's way.

The Humbaba regained its footing and uprooted chunks of earth in each hand. It hurled the dirt at the Anzû in an attempt at knocking it out of the sky. It's horns seemed to crackle with more electricity.

Bolts of lightning lashed out from the Anzû's body, destroying the chunks sent flying its way. Dust and dirt clouded the air around the Anzû. The Anzû flapped its wings and blew the cloud over to the Humbaba, clouding its vision.

The Humbaba didn't care at all. It leaped at the massive bird and attempted to snatch it out of the sky.

The Anzû simply rose to a higher altitude and shot lightning down upon the beast's back, sending it plummeting to the ground.

The Humbaba landed against the ground with a thunderous crash, cracking the earth beneath it. Its horns lit up with blue electricity. It smashed its fists against the ground with a growing rage before shoving them deep into the ground. The beast grunted and roared as it uprooted a massive chunk of land containing numerous trees, many of which were set ablaze by the Humbaba's breath, and sent it hurling up at the Anzû.

The Anzû, despite its avian advantage, could not get out of the way fast enough. It decided to fire a water jet at the hurled ground only to cut down a quarter of the way.

The chunk of earth crashed against the bird directly, creating an enormous cloud of dirt as a hail of charred and splintered wood rained from the sky.

"No!" Issei shouted. Their one hope had just been shot down by the furious Humbaba.

* * *

The dust cleared to reveal a magical barrier surrounding the Anzû. It had feebly braced itself for the impact, but seemed confused when it realized it wasn't struck. It looked around before fixating its gaze on a distant object.

Issei, Rias, and Sona looked to where the bird was looking to see four flying humanoids. Upon closer inspection, they identified the four as Xenovia, Koneko, Tomoe, and Grayfia. The three grounded Devils looked joyous to see their allies, Rias seeming even more so than the rest seeing that Grayfia was alive.

The Anzû screeched at the four Devils heading its direction. This screech didn't sound aggressive or anything of the sort; it almost sounded joyful as if it understood that one of the four had just saved it.

Grayfia flew up beside the Anzû while Koneko, Xenovia, and Tomoe flew past it to aid the injured Gasper, Yuuto, and Genshirou into the air to escape the clutches of the Humbaba. Rias, Sona, Asia, Akeno, and Issei took to the skies as well to avoid being targeted by the ferocious bear-headed monster.

"Looks like I got to you just in time," Grayifa remarked to the massive bird to her side as the barrier around the Anzû dissipated. She turned towards the young Devils. "You all need to get out of here! It is too dangerous for you to be here any longer! I don't wish for you to get caught in the crossfire!" she shouted.

* * *

The young Devils understood and fled towards the town, using the darkened skies as cover from the eyes of the humans below. Grayfia was left with the Anzû and the Humbaba; thankfully for her, the Anzû was on her side.

The Humbaba roared once again, this time sounding even more furious than before. It smashed its hands against the ground before flinging itself at the two.

The Anzû let loose a powerful gust of wind, pushing the beast to the side and sending it careening into the trees.

As it flew, Grayfia fired a blast of powerful electricity at the Humbaba.

The beast landed roughly, turned around to face the two, and took the blast head-on. The Humbaba's blackened horns were now surging with blue light; the attack had an effect on the beast, but it wasn't a negative one. It charged back at the two, uprooting several trees and hurling them like spears at the Anzû specifically.

The Anzû created a violent tornado around it and Grayfia, protecting the two from the Humbaba's projectiles. The trees that adorned the vortex were launched back at the Humbaba by fierce winds.

The Humbaba unleashed a plume of flame from its mouth, completely engulfing the trees and reducing them to ashes before they could even reach the beast. The flames made contact with the Anzû's tornado and set it ablaze. A vortex of bright orange heat rose into the sky, bewildering the Devils fleeing from the battleground. The woods around the tornado began to combust.

The flames seemed to sink into the tornado and a bright light was seen within the vortex. The tornado immediately dissipated to reveal a massive orb of flame floating over the Anzû.

Grayfia unleashed a powerful volley of explosive spells at the Humbaba while the Anzû gathered falling rain into numerous spheres hovering around its body. The remaining flames from the burning woods fluttered over to the Anzû and added themselves to the fiery sphere above.

The Humbaba roared and fired a mighty stream of electricity from its once blackened horns.

Grayfia didn't even flinch as the electricity headed her way. A smirk appeared on her face.

In the nick of time, the Anzû blocked the attack for her with its own body. The electricity was completely absorbed into its feathers, giving the bird a blinding blue glow and greatly strengthening its already impressive magical powers.

The Anzû released the gathered rainwater as a volley of high pressure water jets all trained on the Humbaba while assailing it with a hail of fiery orbs that shot from the massive orb of flame above it like a gatling gun. The attacks failed to damage its hide, but it was enough to force pained howls from the beast as it was forced further into the woods, angrily grasping at the ground below in an attempt at remaining stout.

As the beast flailed angrily, the Anzû flew over to the Humbaba at high speeds and sank its silver talons into its shoulders. The Anzû took advantage of the imbalanced beast and hoisted the Humbaba up in a fashion that prevented it from reaching the bird even with its fire breath. It carried the Humbaba towards the mountains as it flailed and roared with primal fury. The storm dissipated instantly as if willed so by the Anzû.

The Devils, as they fled, turned to look back and see the blue-highlighted Anzû carrying off the Humbaba. A wave of relief washed over them as the thunder from the Anzû's wings grew fainter and fainter until it and the Humbaba's rage-filled roars faded from earshot. Joyful shouting escaped all of them and they grasped each other in their arms; they had survived odds thought to be nigh, if not, impossible by even Ddraig. Ruruko, Tsubaki, and Tsubasa flew over from the mountains to their airborne allies and rejoiced. The remaining Devils, Momo and Reya, flew up above the trees to get a look at what was going on after noticing the storm dying down. The two noticed their other allies hovering in the air, shouting and cheering in triumph; Momo and Reya knew they had survived the Humbaba. They flew towards them and joined in on the celebration.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House,**** ** **12:40 PM****

The Devils returned to the club house and went to work on repairing the damage dealt to the club house and the woods around it. The task was fairly easy and profoundly quick thanks to the magical prowess of most of the Devils. After the task, they conversed among each other. Some talked about the fight they had just endured while some talked about more important matters.

"Man, I can't thank you enough for gettin' here when ya did," Issei said, looking right at Grayfia as he did so. He had a smile stretching far across his face.

"You should really be thanking Sirzechs for sending me," Grayfia refuted.

"Is there any information regarding the summit yet?" Rias asked, her face grew a fair bit stern. "You had to have been sent here for something other than just a check-in,"

"Aside from Sirzechs needing more time than we first thought, there wasn't really much of anything he, _specifically_ , said to tell you," Grayfia said.

"What is keeping him so preoccupied? And what do you mean by _specifically_?" Sona asked.

"Falbium mentioned that Sirzechs warned the other Satans about saboteurs and spies in the ranks of the Three Factions. Despite Sirzech's wishes, Falbium felt the need to let me know so that I would be wary of such suspicious activity. In order for this meeting to be successful, they need to weed out those problems so that the situation doesn't reach a more dire state. I was sent as a safeguard for you and your friends seeing that I had already did what was needed of me; it seems my aid was needed more than I thought, though," Grayfia answered.

"So we're dealing with an organized threat?" Sona asked. She put her hand up to her chin.

"It is quite possible," Grayfia answered with a nod.

"Uh… who's Falbium?" Issei asked as he scratched his head. "Sounds like somethin' of the Periodical Table."

"Periodic Table, Hyoudou…" Sona corrected in a somewhat exasperated manner. "Falbium is one of the Four Satans: the current Asmodeus. He takes care of military matters."

"Then what does Sirzechs do?" Issei asked yet again. "I always thought he was the one who did the asskickin'."

"My brother tends to matters within the Devil Faction itself. That aside, he isn't above getting his hands dirty if need be," Rias answered.

"Job titles aren't important right now, I'm afraid," Grayfia intervened. "We have to make sure you are in good company."

"We should be fine with that. The Kasais are great guys," Issei remarked.

"I assume those are the friends you were trying to protect?" Grayfia inquired.

"Yep," Issei replied with a nod.

"Well, it would still be wise to be sure the bounty hunters' story holds true. For as far as we know, this could be some kind of cover-up to make them less of a suspect," Grayfia said.

"Are you suggestin' they're spies?" Issei asked. He felt a slight burning sensation in his chest, but tried not to come off as hostile to a woman who could easily smack him unconscious.

"I'm just stating possibilities," Grayfia answered. She turned towards Rias. "I would just suggest checking with them and seeing how they react. Odds are they aren't expecting us to be alive after a Humbaba confrontation if they are an enemy. With their trump card gone, we would have an overwhelming advantage against them; and they would be more careful around us knowing that. Tell me when they start behaving in unusual ways and I'll bring their whole façade down."

Rias nodded in agreement. They would be heading to the Kasai residence to test the bounty hunters' story.

"Wait, so we're going with the 'guilty until proven innocent' thing here?" Issei asked with a displeased look in his eyes. His tone of voice sounded a little distressed.

* * *

 ** **Kasai Residence, 12:50 PM****

"So this is where they live?" Grayfia asked as she observed the layout of the house and the overall peaceful view of the field across the street. The house was so isolated from the town, it wouldn't be surprising if the inhabitants were blissfully unaware of the storm that had brewed near Kuoh Academy. "I see they prefer a more quiet life."

Rias promptly knocked on the door; a feminine voice was heard within. In short time, the door opened to reveal the ghoulish Ryuusuke wearing his usual white shirt and tattered black jeans. His singular shoe was still hanging on by a thread. Despite having just survived an encounter with bounty-hunting mercenaries and a Humbaba, the very sight of the pale man made a majority of the young Devils' skin crawl.

"My goodness, you seem a tad ill," Grayfia remarked as she gazed up at the man that pretty much towered over her. She seemed more concerned for the man's personal health than she was afraid.

"I always look this way," Ryuusuke remarked. "That aside, who are you? I don't recall ever seeing your face around my masters' friends."

"Masters?" Grayfia repeated.

"He's kinda the asskickin' butler of the family here," Issei said.

"Are you certain? He doesn't look like he could do much damage," Grayfia remarked. He looked up to the man's eyes empty glare that terrorized a majority of the younger Devils around her. She seemed relatively unfazed by the empty-eyed expression. "Of course, I don't mean to insult; but do understand what I'm getting at."

"I get that a lot; I honestly couldn't care less about it," Ryuusuke said, his hollow eyes trained on Grayfia as if studying her. "I'll ask again; who are you?"

"Well, aren't you aggressive? I am the elder sister of Rias: Grayfia Gremory," Grayfia answered.

Rias blushed slightly. Even though it was a lie made to save face until they broke the news to Miu and Haru, she couldn't help but feel burning embarrassment in her chest and face.

"I don't believe you," Ryuusuke said with a cold tone. He raised his scrawny arm and pointed at various parts of Grayfia's body. "First off, your hair is nothing like Dear Rias's. Your facial structure is also rather different. Your physique seems too off for it to be just a result of age. Overall, I'm having a hard time believing that claim."

"Scratch being aggressive, you're quite the rude one," Grayfia said with a cross expression on her face and her hands on her hips. She had to rationalize her claim quickly. "If I'm going to be honest, me and her are half-sisters."

"You see, I would believe that if you two shared **any** similar features aside from both being big-breasted women," Ryuusuke refuted, putting Grayfia back on the defense in this trade of words.

"Not very sociable, is he? How do you tolerate him?" Grayfia whispered to Rias.

"I would've believed you if you said you were an adoptive sister or something along those lines, but your familial ties truly aren't any of my business; I would've been fine with just a name seeing that you've associated yourself with my masters' friends. Just don't harm or upset my masters and we can get along, blood-related to Dear Rias or not," Ryuusuke conceded.

Ryuusuke stepping down from the verbal confrontation set Grayfia at ease; she was unsure if she would be able to hold out against him much longer.

"Akahoshi is blunt to a fault. Don't take his words as insults; you'll feel offended quite often," Sona warned.

"It would be smart to heed Dear Sona's words," Ryuusuke remarked.

"Who's at the door Ryuu?" the voice of Miu could be heard from within the house.

"Sir Daisuke's and Madam Ai's friends and some woman named Grayfia!" Ryuusuke shouted into the house. His voice sounded just as unenthusiastic as usual even with the added volume in his voice.

"Oh, they're here before Ai and Dai even got home? Be a dear and let them in, Ryuu; me and Haru will serve them up something while they wait!" Miu shouted from across the house.

Ryuusuke turned back to face the Devils. "Please come in."

* * *

Once inside the building, Grayfia's eyes were assaulted by a large quantity of yellow. Her eyes narrowed; it was hard for her to look at the walls of the home.

"What is with all this yellow paint?" Grayfia asked.

"It is Master Haru's favorite color. If it hurts your eyes, do take it up with him; don't expect him to cave in to changing it, though," Ryuusuke answered as he closed and locked the door behind the Devils.

He turned to notice red all over Xenovia's outfit. "Dear Xenovia, what is that all over you?" he asked before sniffing the substance, not even giving Xenovia a chance to answer. "Blood? What happened?" He turned and noticed blood on a number of them. "Did you get jumped? If so, _describe the assailants and I'll make sure they repent for_ ** _every_** _sin they have_ ** _ever_** _committed._ "

"I don't think I like the way he said that," Grayfia remarked.

"That's Ryuu for ya," Issei said.

"What happened?" Ryuusuke repeated. His voice was as monotone as ever, but his gaze was strongly fixated on Rias's eyes

"We… uh…" Rias began. She couldn't help but choke on her words with Ryuusuke's cold eyes staring her down the way they were.

"Come on, Haru honey. They're probably-" Miu said as the delicate woman turned a corner. She was wearing the same red dress and red heel combo from a few days ago, but wasn't wearing her golden earrings at the time. Her stout lumberjack of a husband, Haru, was right behind her, wearing his brown vest-undershirt combo along with his brown pants and black shoes. They fixated their gazes on the red material on the Devils' clothing. The smell of iron assaulted both their noses and sent them into a panic.

"What in the blazes? What happened? Where are the kids?" Haru asked, his eyes shot open. He threw his brown, fur-lined jacket over his brown undershirt and hurriedly threw his white tie around his neck, not even taking the time to adjust it, as he made his way to the door. "Honey, get the medical supplies and tend to these kids; I'll go get our kids! Ryuu, get your gun ready!"

Miu rushed back into the house with wide eyes and a frightened frown on her face. The clacking of her heels striking the orange hardwood floor echoed as she left.

The two didn't display much of any signs of disbelief of the Devils' survival; they seemed more concerned for their guests' well-being and the safety of their children than anything. So far, everything checked out.

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there dude. They're fine, we'll explain everything," Issei said, trying to stop the man.

"How can you be sure of that with all that blood on you?" Haru said as he tried to brute force his massive body past Issei only to be stopped by the spindly kid. "How the Hell aren't you moving?"

"We'll explain that too, just sit down, talk to us, and everything will make sense," Rias said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder..

"Please listen to them, sir. This can and will get complicated if you don't let us explain," Grayfia said, putting her hand on Haru's other shoulder.

"At least let me call them to make sure they are okay," Haru plead. Tears seemed to well up in his eyes. If this was an act, it was a damn good one. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and dialed a number at near light-speed.

The phone rang for a moment before the tone went silent.

"Are you fine? What's going on?" Haru asked frantically. Sweat rolled down his face and a terrified visage fell upon him.

"Father?" a male voice asked over the phone; it was Daisuke. "Me, Ren, Ran, and Ai are fine; I got everyone to a secure location."

"What's happening?" Haru asked, clutching his chest tightly as if he was bound to have a heart attack. "Is there someone in the building?"

"No, father. A sudden storm struck the campus and threatened to level the locale before vanishing within the span of thirty minutes or so. Now it's probably the clearest this place has been in the past month. I took it upon myself to bring any stragglers to safety, but was unable to find the Student Council or the Occult Research Club. I think they were in the club building when a tornado formed somewhere around that area," Daisuke said before pausing. A defeated sigh escaped him. "I think they're dead. If only I got to them sooner… bloody Hell."

A relieved sigh escaped Haru and a light chuckle followed. He patted his chest before wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Thank goodness your okay; me and Ryuu will come get you soon. I have some good news for you, my boy. Your club and council friends are here with us right now."

"Are you serious?" Daisuke asked in a heightened pitch.

"Here, I'll put you on the phone with one of them," Haru said before holding up the phone.

Sona raised her hand to grab the phone. She put it to her ear and spoke. "Thank you for your concern, Daisuke; we're all well and alive. What is important right now is that your siblings and the other students are safe. I need you to check around the campus for any injured students and bring them to safety. I'm proud of you for being brave enough to face such a storm for the well-being of others. The academy is incredibly lucky to have you," Sona almost seemed to cradle the phone as she spoke. A gentle smile formed on her face and a heavy weight left her body.

"Once again, he pulls ahead of me. Going to have to up my game," Genshirou thought, feeling a prominent stinging in his chest he forced himself to restrain.

"Very well then, Presi-," Daisuke said.

"Can I speak to Daisuke for a moment?" Akeno asked Sona, holding her hand out. Her voice didn't sound as vibrant as it usually does and her usual mischievous grin was absent.

A beep was heard from the phone; Daisuke had quickly hung up after hearing Akeno's voice.

Akeno's face became sullen and she held her hands at her waist. "I suppose it can wait," she said.

"Are you feeling well, Himejima?" Sona asked. Usually, Daisuke's voice would fill the tease-happy woman with mischievous glee.

"I'm perfectly fine, don't worry," Akeno said, keeping her gaze from locking with Sona's.

Miu ran around a corner carrying a pile of medical supplies ranging from bandages and stitching supplies to antiseptics and painkillers. "Sorry it took me so long, I had to really dig around. Which one of you dears should I take care of first?"

Issei giddily stepped up, a perverse look on his face. His heart raced as he imagined resting his head on Miu's soft legs and looking up at her bust as she tended to his wounds. A cold hand grasped his shoulder, causing him to turn and look behind him.

"I do believe Dear Tsubasa needs more aid than you. However, if you need aid that badly, I'll mend your wounds," Ryuusuke said, staring Issei blankly in the eyes.

A chill swept through Issei as he locked eyes with the empty-eyed man. "I… uh… I'll be fine," Issei said as he nudged Ryuusuke's hand off his shoulder.

"Are you certain? Are you just afraid it will hurt? Or were you planning on mistreating Mistress Miu?" Ryuusuke asked.

The man was in the perverse Devil's head. An even colder chill ran through Issei and his hands twitched slightly.

"Honestly, we don't need to be tended to. It is part of what we have to tell you. Please, let's just sit down and talk," Grayfia urged.

* * *

The Devils and the heads of the Kasai family sat themselves down in the living room. The Devils grabbed themselves a seat while Miu and Haru sat on a couch together. Ryuusuke, being the oddball he was, squatted on the ground beside his masters and stared exclusively at Grayfia.

"I'm not sure how I can break this to you easily..." Rias said. She clasped her hands together and sighed. She gazed off at the ground and squirmed slightly in her chair.

"We received information saying that you contacted the supernatural in order to get ahead in business matters. We would like some explanations for that," Sona said. Her gaze was stern as she adjusted her glasses. She had about enough nonsense for today, what with the mercenaries and the Humbaba, and wanted to get straight to the point.

Haru's eyes almost popped out of his skull. He almost immediately broke into a cold sweat and uncomfortably tugged at his unfastened tie.

"I take it those claims were true based upon your-" Sona said before looking over at Miu. She shut up quickly upon gazing at her.

Miu's beautiful blue eyes had widened themselves into a look of madness. They displayed nothing but cold, murderous intent. Her face held a smile, which by this point was a feeble attempt at maintaining a hospitable appearance. Her right hand tightened around a sowing needle.

Haru wasn't kidding about Mui's own death stare. Where Daisuke's gave off a refined and pompous "I'm above swine like you, but not above sending you to slaughter" feel, Miu's gave off a more Ryuusuke "I am going to cut the face and fingers off your corpse so they can't identify you" level of terrifying. A spine-chilling sensation swept through the Devils' and some even began choking on the air itself, too afraid to breathe lest Miu looked at them with her demented gaze.

" **Who. The. Fuck. Told. You. That.** " Miu asked. She kept her eyes trained on Sona as she spoke.

"Miu honey, calm dow-" Haru began. He attempted to slowly wrap his arms around his wife.

Miu lunged off of the couch with the sowing needle gripped firmly in her hand. She let out a bone-chilling shriek as she charged Sona.

"Mistress Miu!" Ryuusuke shouted as he wrapped his lanky arms around Miu's and held his hands together behind her head, restraining her.

"Let me go this fucking instant, Ryuusuke!" Miu shouted as she struggled to escape Ryuusuke's hold.

"You know how you are when you get this way, Mistress Miu," Ryuusuke said. His tone failed to change even in the presence of his enraged master. He turned to look at Haru. "What is this about supernatural aid, Master Haru? I don't think you ever told me about such a thing."

"Why the fuck do you know this!? We kept this hidden so well for so long, and you just waltz in and fucking decode us like some kind of sliding puzzle!" Miu ranted. She frantically struggled, but to no avail.

"I can see where Daisuke gets his murderous instinct," Genshirou thought. Each shriek of the woman caused his heart to hasten.

"Ya know, I'm glad The Embodiment of Zero Fucks Given is here for once; I don't want to go anywhere near her right now," Issei thought. The crazed look in Miu's eyes made his blood run cold.

"We aren't here to bring down your empire or anything of the sort; we're actually here to protect you," Grayfia said. Her voice was shaky; even she was unnerved by the rabid woman.

"The only one needing protection is you once I get a hold of you! Damn silver-haired whore!" Miu shouted. In a last ditch effort to get at their throats, she brought her foot back and kicked Ryuusuke in the groin with one of her red heels.

The male division of the Devils and even some of the females winced; they could almost feel the pain from where they sat.

Ryuusuke, however, didn't even break the bond his hands held behind Miu's head. His eyes failed to respond to the kick and his mouth failed to even show a quiver. Is he just immune to pain?

"I feel that this would be best discussed between you and Master Haru for right now. I'm going to take Mistress Miu to another room to let her calm down. Fill me in on the details when I get back," Ryuusuke said before hoisting Miu up and carrying her further into the house. As she was carried, she kicked and shouted obscenities at Sona and the other Devils before turning against Ryuusuke once again.

"Dammit Akahoshi! Put me down, or I swear I'll kick your pale ass back to the streets!" Miu shouted.

"You're just saying that because you're mad, Mistress Miu," Ryuusuke replied, still stone cold in tone and expression.

* * *

The two vanished from both sight and earshot. The air of fear disappeared and everyone was able to relax again.

"I'm so sorry about that; Miu is a bit extreme when excited," Haru said as he scratched the back of his head. He held a sullen look on his face as he looked down at the ground.

"Must've made sex a Hell of a time, huh," Issei thought. "And to think, I was about to let her stitch me up." He shuddered at the thought of laying his head in the lap of Miu bearing that nightmarish visage, sowing needle in hand.

"I suppose we can't dodge this anymore. I could deny it all I want; but after Miu's outburst all but confirming the claim, there is no argument I can make up that will change your mind," Haru began. He sighed and adjusted his tie so that it was no longer loosely dangling from his neck. He ran his hand through his short, wavy, brown hair, brushing it out and away from his face. "Listen up and listen well; this is going to sound a little crazy."

* * *

 ** _ **And that concludes that chapter.**_**

 ** _ **Welp, I know I said there wouldn't be a full chapter of fighting, so I instead filled it with a chase scene of sorts. That's totally different. Right? Right? (Nope, probably**_** ** _ **going to get some flak for that**_** ** _ **).**_**

 ** _ **I'm going to try to write emotions a bit better from now on. That may slow down my writing process, but I feel it may just be a necessary sacrifice. Thinking of buying the Emotion Thesaurus when I get a chance; it should help me immensely.**_**

 ** _ **It has occurred to me that I may be making the tone of this story a little serious considering the source material. What do you think? Is it too serious or am I just worrying too much about**_** ** _ **a nonexistent problem**_** ** _ **?**_**


	18. Volume 2:Life 6

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _Surprise! We're Devils! Oh, and You're Being Hunted._**

After the Devils had survived the encounter with the ferocious Humbaba, they visited the heads of the Kasai family to question them about a deal they had with a Devil many years ago. Their questioning made Miu go ballistic, resulting in her having to be restrained and removed from their presence by Ryuusuke. The Devils now sit in the living room alone with Haru, who would bring light to their questions and curiosity.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence, 1:00 PM**

Dispersed throughout the room, the Devils took seats whenever available, some resorting to simply sitting on the floor to rest their weary legs.

Haru shifted in his seat before gazing up at a bronze clock hanging on a wall behind the Devils.

"I hope we can wrap this up fairly quickly; I did say I would be there to get my kids soon," Haru spoke. He cleared his throat and gently pulled on his white tie. "You know how I said that my and my wife's family wagered our rights to wed each other? And that, if we wished to wed, we had to make a successful business?"

"Yes, that is still fresh in my mind," Rias answered.

"Good. Good," Haru said, stroking his beard. "Well, they handed us a loan of their property to get us started. I got a share from my family while Miu got a share from hers."

"If that's the case, why did you have to mess with otherworldly stuff?" Issei asked.

"You don't understand the basics of business and trade, do you?" Haru asked, pointing directly at Issei. "I said it was a **loan** , not **charity**. They had us pay back our loan, plus interest, over the course of a few years. Whenever we did get going with anything, they hiked up the interest and forced us to pay more. We had to pay unfair amounts to not one, but two big businesses at once."

"Is that even legal?" Ruruko asked. A small flame burned in her heart; this injustice was infuriating to her.

"It shouldn't be; but even if it wasn't, they could pay for some of the best lawyers around. That, and they had their hands in the pockets of many reputable people. Suing them would've been suicide." Haru spoke.

"So you guys were constantly in a corner?" Genshirou asked.

"Yes. We went about our lives pinching pennies more than kleptomaniacal crayfish. We would buy bread and spices to feed ourselves with spiced bread on bad days. From time to time, we had enough money to squeeze in some restaurant food. We didn't do so out of taste, though; we did it because we needed actual nourishment. Either way, we weren't living healthy lives. My muscle mass faded substantially and Miu became about as sickly looking as Ryuu. Despite the living conditions, we kept going because, in our minds, our love was worth the trials and hunger," Haru went on.

"Damn, that's deep," Issei thought.

"But what of the deal? When did that come about?" Sona asked, sparing little time for romance stories.

"It happened when we were out eating restaurant food for the first time in… what… 14 months… I don't remember. A man approached us that day. Immediately, we knew something was wrong. I don't know what it was, but something about the man felt… unnatural. Nobody around us seemed to notice him. He spoke quietly, but his voice was… powerful if that makes any sense to you. His eyes were gentle, yet I felt like I was being hunted whenever I looked up at them. He smiled in a way a friend would, but something evil resonated from it," Haru explained. He sweated as he recalled the details.

"Definitely sounds like a Devil, a malevolent one at that," Grayfia thought.

Gasper cowered in his seat as he visualized the chilling image of the man described.

"He gave us a proposition on paper stating that he would create a successful business in our name in return for a—and keep track of this detail—flexile percentage of our earnings. If we failed to pay our end, he would take everything we held dear. As reluctant as me and Miu were, we had no other choice than to accept his terms. Almost immediately, our life turned around as if by some kind of magic. We had meals—actual meals—at the ready, a stable home, a thriving business, and a soon-to-be family. All we had to do was pay our debts," Haru spoke.

"And so you failed a payment at some point?" Sona asked.

"No, not at all. We did everything our contract told us to. In fact, I have a copy of it with me," Haru answered. He reached into the inner pocket of his brown, fur-lined jacket and pulled out a rather old and worn folded piece of paper. "The guy tried to con us quite a lot by pulling the same thing our families did: hiking up the price we had to pay. He tried to use the 'flexile' percentage to leech us as much as he could while keeping us afloat. In return, I conned him. You want to know what I did?"

"What?" Rias asked. The Devil's interest was piqued. What move could he have made to swindle a Devil, who had more than likely lived far longer and learned far more than he?

The others leaned in with anticipation; all but Grayfia, who instead pondered more important matters.

"You remember how me and Miu gave most of our profits and company to our families as an investment?" Haru asked, a confident smirk accompanying his words.

The Devils nodded. Grayfia went along with the nodding despite not having payed too much attention.

Haru unfolded the paper and held it in both hands. "The contract **specifically** states that the earnings from **our** business will be drawn from. We had **our families' businesses** take over the company **blessed with success** with a contract-bound agreement ensuring they would return a share of the profits **if the union was successful** every month effective thirty years from the agreement. Since it is no longer **our business** , we don't have to pay anything since we **have no business**. That oppressive snake never saw it coming," Haru said. He let out a hearty laugh that filled the whole house. "What was it you said, Icy? 'Art of the Deal Edition'?"

"Uh… it's Issei," Issei responded.

"A brilliant move, I must say," Grayfia said.

"So you outsmarted a Devil and now he wants revenge?" Sona asked.

"Devil?" Haru repeated. His confident smile fell and fear gripped his face. "You mean the King of Hell himself? I thought he was just a Demon or something like that."

"Now that you've said your side, I think it's time for us to tell ours," Grayfia said.

"You didn't answer my-" Haru began.

Grayfia's leathery bat wings sprouted from her back. Soon followed the rest of the Devils. Akeno decided not to show her Fallen Angel wing as to not incite further confusion and instead displayed two bat wings like the rest of her friends.

Haru's body froze in place. Horror nearly immobilized his face as he dropped the paper in his hands. "W-What the Hell?"

The click of a gun was heard to the left of the Devils. Standing in the doorway leading to the room Miu was held in was Ryuusuke holding his Colt Python, his aim trained on Grayfia specifically. His eyes, despite being faced with the unknown, were as cold and empty as usual. His expression, too, failed to change.

Behind him was Miu herself, who still held the sowing needle. She was calmed, but now seemed paralyzed with fear. She held the sowing needle close to her as if it was her last defense—ignoring the gun-wielding Ryuusuke, of course.

"Calm yourselves, we'll explain everything," Grayfia said.

"Go ahead," Ryuusuke said, not lowering his gun or wavering his aim whatsoever.

The two other humans failed to speak up.

* * *

"Well, for starters, we are Devils," Rias said.

"That isn't helping your case here," Ryuusuke said, focusing his aim on Rias now.

"Oh please, if we so desired, we could snuff you out like an ant. Stop acting so tough," Grayfia said with a smirk.

"I embrace death whenever it will come. In other words, I'll still shoot you with no regrets whatsoever," Ryuusuke said, turning his aim back at Grayfia.

"Ryuu, pl-please, don't m-make them angry," Miu plead. Her eyes darted from Devil to Devil, not taking her eyes off of any of them for a prolonged period.

"Ryuusuke, if we planned on harming you or the Kasais, don't you think we would've done it already?" Sona asked.

"You creatures have always been depicted as untrustworthy and overtly manipulative. I'm sorry, creature, but I'm wary of some ulterior motive you have for keeping us alive," Ryuusuke refuted.

"Ryuusuke, as ballsy as usual," Issei remarked under his breath.

"Bravery is not born from fearlessness, creature," Ryuusuke said turning his aim at Issei.

Remembering Ryuusuke's excellent aim, Issei just about jumped out of his seat the moment the gun turned towards him. "Dude, calm down. I ain't lookin' to be shot again," he said.

"Again?" Ryuusuke repeated.

"Again?" Grayfia raised her brow.

"Oh…uh..." Issei tried to rectify his error, but could not find something Ryuusuke's skepticism would find believable.

"Forget it. Not important now," Ryuusuke said. Despite being outmatched and outnumbered, it seemed he was calling the shots here.

"Look, I'm not expecting you to believe me, but not all Devils are evil by nature. We have actually been safeguarding you and this family for quite some time now," Rias said.

"From what, exactly?" Ryuusuke asked, his aim trained back on Rias. The empty eyes of the man behind the firearm still made the hairs on Rias's neck stand on end even when surround by her friends.

"You are being hunted by a group of otherworldly mercenaries sent to abduct you," Sona answered.

"Mercenaries? Why would Hell need mercenaries?" Ryuusuke asked.

"I see..." Haru spoke under his breath. He had seemed to have somewhat recomposed himself. He was no longer frozen still on the couch, but still avoided looking the Devils in their eyes. "Those mercenaries were sent by that Devil guy I talked about, weren't they?"

"It would make sense. Many Devils do view themselves as above humanity; being disgraced by a human could provoke a powerful lust for revenge," Tsubaki said.

Ryuusuke's gun turned to Issei. "I have my eye on you," he said, referring to when he smashed Issei through a table.

"Dude, I used to be a human too. I'm not gonna attack ya," Issei said.

Miu and Haru turned their gazes to Issei. Confusion could be seen in their eyes.

"Used to be human?" Ryuusuke repeated.

"First, I will say that Devils are an entire race, not just one being. There are three types of Devils: Pure-Blooded, Reincarnated, and Strays. Rias, Sona, and I are of Pure-Blood, meaning we were born with our powers and raised in the Underworld. The rest are Reincarnated, meaning they used to be humans or other beings before they died and were converted into Devils. Reincarnated Devils tend to serve Pure-Blooded Devils in what is called a Peerage where there is a King, a Queen, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns," Grayfia explained.

"So basically a Chess set?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Well, that's what the Evil Pieces System—the system that allows this method of reincarnation—is based on. So it kind of is just Chess in a way," Grayfia answered.

"Why am I getting undertones of a competitive scene to these 'Peerages'?" Ryuusuke asked.

"That is because there is. Devils compete against each other often to see whose Peerage is stronger; thus proving who holds more power in Devil society," Sona answered.

"So it all just boils down to a massive Kratocratic government system?" Ryuusuke asked before scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Going to be honest: I won't be surprised if your society crashes and burns sometime soon. Kratocracies value power and strength, not political competency. It will most likely lead to a form of tyranny and then cause some civil unrest before a massive civil war breaks out."

As Ryuusuke droned on, several of the Devils grew drowsy as if listening to a lecture from an unenthusiastic college professor.

"That is quite a bold statement coming from a human whose race can't even decide on what deities to worship," Sona remarked with a sour tone of voice.

"Well, at least we've evolved past holding violent cockfighting tournaments as the sole measurement of one's worth. In fact, such practices are considered illegal or, at the least, inhumane," Ryuusuke spoke back.

"Touché," Sona conceded, crossing her arms and shooting a stern look at Ryuusuke.

"Anyway, Rias has a Peerage consisting of the entire ORC while Sona's Peerage consists of the Student Council. Strays are the Devils humans need to watch out for; they're usually the ones that prey on humans," Grayfia said.

"Sona? I assume Souna was just a cover-up identity then?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Affirmative," Sona replied.

"So we have things that were born Devils and humans turned monster?" Ryuusuke asked.

"I-I was actually born a-a Dhampir, Mister Ryuusuke," Gasper spoke with a quiver in his voice. He hid behind Issei once Ryuusuke turned his empty gaze to him.

"A Vampire Devil? How much do I have in this thing?" Ryuusuke said as he checked the chamber of his revolver.

"You don't have enough to shoot us all, sir," Grayfia said with a chuckle.

"Yes I do; I have more in my pockets. I also never said they were for you. Not going to let my masters be thralls to a humanoid tick," Ryuusuke said, clicking the chamber back into position with the expertise of an Old West movie protagonist.

"We aren't monsters, dude. The world ain't as black and white as ya think it is," Issei said.

"I only see it as black. The more you expect to see good in the world, the more disappointed you'll be with the reality," Ryuusuke said.

"You're such a Debbie-downer, you know?" Ruruko asked.

"I prefer jaded, if you will," Ryuusuke remarked. He had subconsciously lowered his gun. "So what of this reincarnation nonsense?"

"Well, it would make more sense if we started from the basics. There exists two worlds other than this: Heaven and the Underworld. In Heaven, Angels and Gods from the pantheons of the world perform their tasks of guiding souls and maintaining the world. Sometimes, dead humans in servitude of Heaven are reincarnated as Angels much like how people are reincarnated as Devils. In the Underworld—which isn't all fire, brimstone, and eternal suffering, mind you—Fallen Angels, Devils, and certain Gods such as Hades enact their roles on the world," Rias explained.

"You know, you're saying a lot of things that just sound like deception to me. And what's this about pantheons? You mean Zeus actually exists?" Ryuusuke spoke.

"Yes," Rias answered.

"How in the Hell would that work? By that logic, Apep and Fenrir are both destined to destroy the world. What does that mean about the creation stories? Are they all false? True?" Ryuusuke questioned.

"That's why the supernatural world had to be hidden from the eyes of humanity. Humans aren't ready for such knowledge; it would shatter the very belief systems that give the Angels and some Gods their power," Xenovia said.

"And yet you are here telling us this?" Ryuusuke inquired.

"Because you're being hunted by the supernatural and we can't keep tiptoeing around your ignorance if we are to protect you," Tsubasa said with crossed arms.

"Why do you want to protect us anyway? Aren't we worms compared to you?" Ryuusuke asked.

"You mean a lot to us as friends. You're a bunch of good people with likable personalities. It wouldn't be just to have such kind souls like you fend for yourselves against something you don't understand," Asia said.

"I call bullshit; no one likes my personality. My main purpose is to scare off people, clean house, and shoot things," Ryuusuke refuted.

"I call bullshit; I like your no nonsense mindset," Koneko said. She held a slight smile, which was odd for her to do.

"When you grow tired of people and **their** bullshit, that tends to happen," Ryuusuke said.

"I admire your loyalty; it's like nothing I've seen before," Yuuto added.

"I don't have much of anything else to live for, really," Ryuusuke said.

"I also kind of think of you as a badass with how off-the-deep-end you act. Even when faced with beings you don't understand, you're the first to pull out a weapon and bark orders," Tsubasa said.

"Now I just feel that you're trying to cater to my ego to get on my good side," Ryuusuke said before he raised his gun once more. "Running out of lies to spill?"

"Ryuu, dear, I think they're being sincere," Miu said, lowering Ryuusuke's arms. Her fear-struck expression had faded.

"Please don't be swayed by the words of these creatures," Ryuusuke plead.

"Ryuu, listen to them. If they were as bad as you're playing them out to be, they wouldn't have been so blunt about being Devils in the first place knowing how negatively we humans perceive them. They're being honest with their forms, so they have no reason to lie if they know we know they're Devils. Even if they are lying, you know as well as we do that we don't really have much of a choice in the matter. They know where we live, know our names, know where the kids go to school, everything. We don't have much of a choice other than to go with what they say. We're at the mercy of higher powers here, Ryuu," Haru spoke. He placed a hand on the pale man's shoulder.

"Please, sir, listen to your masters. If we really wished to manipulate you, we would've kept this act up for so much longer," Grayfia said.

"If we ever had any ill intentions, we would've already done away with Ai and Daisuke," Rias said.

"I know this is a lot to take in right now and you're finding it hard to believe, but Haru has a point. If lying was in our agenda, we could've just blankly said we are Angels or some guardian sent by the Gods. The fact that we're being so transparent with you should provide enough evidence," Sona said.

* * *

Ryuusuke dropped his shooting arm to his side. He sighed and turned towards Miu and Haru. "If we wind up damned souls in a burning pit, just remember that you put us there, masters." He turned back towards the Devils. "What about those mercenaries? Any information?"

"We've done some talking among ourselves that led to the discovery of what each individual member is in terms of species. That information serves no purpose to you; but if you must know, I can at least list them off," Sona said before signaling to Genshirou to hand her a paper. She adjusted her glasses and narrowed her eyes.

"Two are standard Doppelgängers," Sona said.

"Which are…" Ryuusuke urged.

"Shapeshifters who can take on the physiologies and powers of the creatures they mimic. They prefer to mimic humanoid or sapient creatures, but will take on the forms of bestial creatures if absolutely necessary," Tsubaki said.

"So now we can't even trust each other?" Haru asked. He bit the fingers on one hand and held onto the left side of his chest with the other as if he was about to have a heart attack. "What if they've already gotten to our kids and took their places?"

"Calm yourself," Tomoe said while flying over and gently placing a hand on the man's shoulder. She spoke in a soft voice as she tried to soothe him. "We beat them and their allies into retreat just a couple of hours ago; they wouldn't be dumb enough to attack immediately after. They're probably expecting the town to be leveled by now, so they have no reason to return any time soon."

"Leveled? By what?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Don't worry about that; that threat has been taken care of. Just keep an eye out for a singular red and black eye on anyone; the two seem to be unable to hide that," Xenovia said.

"Duly noted," Ryuusuke said.

"Anyway, another one happens to be an odd strain of Doppelgänger capable of using the attributes of more than one creature," Sona said, reading from the paper again. She looked up towards the humans. "He tends to take the form of a short human male."

"Be wary of short men…" Ryuusuke muttered.

"There is also a scary Werewolf girl," Gasper said.

"Any distinct details?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Energetic and doesn't know how to shut up," Koneko said.

"Energetic and talkative girl, short man, wait a minute…" Reya thought. Memories from when she and Tsubasa tended to Daisuke yesterday returned to her. The descriptions matched two people in her memories: Gekkou Hayashi and Chikaya Moto. She decided to hold her tongue until the end of the explanation so she could ensure her facts were straight.

"We theorized that two of them used to be humans. One is a vulgar Irish man who fights like a boxer while the other is a large man with the ability to read minds and a tendency to use the German equivalent of nouns and titles before saying them in English anyway," Sona said as she read from the paper.

"That sounds a little silly," Miu remarked.

"I say he's just doin' it to sound cool," Issei said with a cross expression.

"Another one is an Okuri Inu-" Sona started.

"A mangy canine Youkai that likes to be creepy, follow people around, and kill them when they trip. They're fast, quiet, as terrifying as they are lethal, and can assume a human form if powerful enough," Koneko said. Her wide, golden eyes narrowed greatly and an intense, furious flame welled within her heart that burned far hotter than even her disdain for perverts.

"Terrifying and quiet..." Reya thought. Akashi Himura, the grim man who exuded a menacing air from the get-go, popped into her mind.

"You seem to know quite a lot about these Youkai things," Issei remarked.

"Don't ask," Koneko snapped, staring right at Issei with her ireful eyes.

"One of them turned out to be a Grim Reaper with an extremely eccentric personality and an unwieldy weapon," Sona read aloud.

" **A** Grim Reaper?" Haru repeated. He ran his hand through his beard and raised his brows.

"Yes, a Grim Reaper. They are a race of semi-deific beings gifted with incredible speed and scythes that slice into a person's very lifespan," Tsubaki said.

"Just watch out for a grown woman who acts like a kid," Issei spoke quietly while leaning over to Ryuusuke.

"One is a Wani," Koneko said.

"Another Youkai judging by the name," Ryuusuke remarked.

"Yes. They're powerful, draconic water beings who bear immense magical might and physical power," Genshirou answered.

"They can only use their brute strength in their true forms, though," Koneko added.

"Lastly, one is a Lich; a variation of the undying Revenant that, over the course of hundreds if not thousands of years, has honed its magical prowess to unthinkable heights. The one hunting you, in particular, has a tendency to speak in a fairly Old English oriented manner," Sona said. She handed the paper back to Genshirou.

"Old English..." Reya thought. She immediately remembered Chihaku Chiyonosuke. A sudden surge of energy rushed through her. She clenched her right hand into a fist and smashed it against the palm of her left hand. There was no was no way this was a coincidence; it was too pinpoint, too exact. Hybrid and Chikaya are both short men. Huntress and Gekkou are both energetic and talkative women. Ripper and Akashi are both tall, silent, and scary men. Archmage and Chihaku both spoke in a manner similar to Old English.

It had to be true; the four Reya and Tsubasa met the day prior and Daisuke met at Murayama's party had to be part of the mercenary group.

* * *

Momo took note of Reya's gesture. "What is it Kusaka?"

The Devils turned their attention towards Reya. As a result, Haru, Miu, and Ryuusuke turned their attention to her as well.

"I know the identities of a few of their human disguises," Reya answered. She turned towards Tsubasa. "Yura, you remember those four we met when helped Daisuke with his punishment yesterday?"

"Yes, what abou-" Tsubasa answered. She paused to put some thought into it. Her eyes shot wide open; she knew exactly what Reya was getting at.

"Sir Daisuke was punished? For what exactly?" Ryuusuke inquired.

Genshirou's heart sank. Even though he stood leagues above the man in terms of power, Ryuusuke and his dead-eyed stare terrified him nonetheless.

"He and Saji got into a fight yesterday," Sona answered.

"Is that so? Which one is Saji?" Ryuusuke asked, looking around with killing intent.

"That isn't important now," Sona answered. She turned her attention back to Reya. "Kusaka, go on."

Ryuusuke dropped the subject and, too, focused on Reya.

"They went by the names Chikaya Moto, Gekkou Hayashi, Akashi Himura, and Chihaku Chiyonosuke. Chikaya is a man shorter than Hyoudou with brown hair, brown eyes, and a constant scowl on his face," Reya explained.

"Which one is Hyoudou?" Ryuusuke asked.

Issei raised his hand. "That's me."

"Stand up, Creature Issei," Ryuusuke directed.

"Could ya stop calling us creatures?" Issei asked as he stood up.

"No, not until I fully trust you again," Ryuusuke answered. He angled his head several times, sometimes in ways that seemed uncomfortable, as he studied Issei. "Alright, you can sit back down."

Issei sat back down, pouting at his new title of "Creature."

Reya cleared her throat before continuing. "Gekkou is a fit, energetic woman a little shorter than Daisuke with long, curly, brown hair reaching her mid-to-upper back and hazel eyes. Akashi is a man taller than Ai who bears pale skin, black hair, dark sunglasses, and an intimidating aura. Chihaku is a man slightly shorter than Ai who wears pince-nez style eyewear, dark-blue hair tied up into a long ponytail, and blue eyes."

"Chikaya Moto: short brown-haired brown-eyed male. K.O.S. Gekkou Hayashi: fit long brown-haired hazel-eyed female. K.O.S. Akashi Himura: tall black-haired male with shades. K.O.S. Chihaku Chiyonosuke: tall blue-haired blue-eyed male with eyewear. K.O.S." Ryuusuke spoke with a quiet, emotionless voice as he walked towards the front door. Once at the front door, he turned to face the Devils.

"I'll be right back. Don't harm my masters while I'm gone; _I'll fill this house with a banquet of Swiss cheese if you so much as scratch them,_ " Ryuusuke warned with an unwavering air of aggression before leaving the building and taking a sharp right turn.

"Goodness, it's like you hired professional hitman to be your bodyguard," Grayfia remarked.

"He might've actually been a hitman. We don't really know," Haru said with a slight chuckle.

"Kiba, be a dear and keep an eye on him?" Rias asked.

"Certainly," Yuuto answered as he stood up and gave a bow to his King. He left the building and the followed the deathly pale man.

"Did you find him on some website or something?" Grayfia asked.

"I've already told the story to the others here, buuuuuuut…" Haru said, scratching the back of his head before shrugging. "Eh, why not. It'll kill some time until Ryuu gets back."

While Ryuusuke was gone, Haru once again told of how they met the cold-hearted hobo.

* * *

Yuuto followed behind the pale man, being careful to not be spotted by him and his sharp eyesight. The man walked around to the back of the building. Yuuto simply followed up until the last turn. He peered around the corner leading to the back of the house. Here, he saw something rather unusual.

Attached to the back of the building was a makeshift house about as small as a large room composed entirely of scrap metal plates and plywood. The door frame was a little shorter than Ryuusuke himself, meaning he would have to slouch to get in. The door itself was the type of door made of cast iron one would have to struggle to force open with a slit-style eyehole on the upper half blocked by what seemed to be a small metal plate.

Ryuusuke reached into his mouth and pulled out a small key. Instead of putting it in the keyhole of the doorknob, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box with a lock. Ryuusuke slid the key into the box's lock and opened it, revealing what seemed to be a small portrait propped up within the box.

Yuuto was too far away to make out any of the portrait's details, but he could see Ryuusuke's shoulders rise as if he was inhaling a great amount of air before they quickly dropped. He seemed to stare longingly at the portrait. This was probably the closest thing to emotion any of the Devils had seen from Ryuusuke.

Ryuusuke reached into the box and pulled out a keychain with about four to five keys on it. He inserted one into the locked door and laboriously opened it. The metal door screeched as it dragged against the floor of the building.

Within the makeshift house, Yuuto could see maps and photos pinned to the wall. Hanging on a nail, he could see a necklace with two small metal plates dangling off the thread. Writing seemed to be engraved into each plate. Were those… dog tags?

Before Yuuto could see anything else or discern anymore details, Ryuusuke closed the door behind him. The door screeched once again as it closed, ending with a loud clang upon shutting.

Yuuto pulled himself back behind the corner and waited, putting thought into what he had just seen.

A few minutes went by before the earsplitting screeches of the door were heard again. Not wanting to be caught, Yuuto went ahead and made his way back to the corner of the house opposite from the one he was at and waited until he saw Ryuusuke. The thunderous thud of the cast iron door closing was heard and the light jingling of keys followed.

Shortly after, Yuuto saw the foot of Ryuusuke poke around the corner. He rushed back to the front door and prepared to reenter the building.

He waited until the sounds of Ryuusuke's footsteps were heard right before the turn of the corner before entering the house.

"Oh, Kiba's back already? Where's Ryuusuke?" Rias asked.

"He'll be here in a moment," Yuuto answered.

"Where was he going anyway?" Sona asked.

"He was probably going to his little shed he built behind our house. He keeps everything he owns in there," Miu said.

"Did you happen to catch a glimpse of what was in there, per chance? He's usually very secretive when it comes to that," Haru spoke. He leaned in and held a hand up to his beard. "I assume Devils have better eyesight than humans."

"I di-" Yuuto began. The opening of the front door silenced him.

The Devils looked towards the door and saw Ryuusuke. He had a massive sniper rifle strapped to his back that would've dragged itself across the ground had he not been so abnormally tall, two sheathed combat knives strapped to his left and right arms in an upside-down position to allow easier drawing, a singular belt with bullets the size of a grown man's hand tied around his waist, and a second handgun—a Desert Eagle, to be exact—strapped to his left leg. He was now a walking armory bearing three guns, a load of ammunition, and two knives.

The Devils' jaws dropped; they had never seen a human with so many weapons, nor one bearing a sniper rifle that large.

"Holy shit!" Issei shouted. His eyes just about jumped out of his skull and his jaw nearly hit the floor. "You sure you don't have enough weapons on ya?"

"Do you think so? Do I need more?" Ryuusuke asked, turning towards the door as if he was actually about to grab another gun from his shed.

"No, no, no. That was sarcasm," Issei answered flailing his arms. "Don't want ya to pull out a damn tank. What kinda gun is that anyway?"

"A German-made Tankgewehr Anti-Tank Rifle: T-Gewehr for short," Ryuusuke answered.

Silence fell upon the room. How this man managed to gain possession of such a high-caliber weapon was beyond them. It seemed even Miu and Haru were shocked by this, as they held the same dumbfounded expression.

"How did you even get your hands on one of those?" Sona asked, awe shocked her otherwise unimpressed face alive.

"No comment," Ryuusuke said with a flat tone.

"I haven't seen one of these since the advent of what you humans call World War One. I'm surprised your kind still make these. These guns can punch right through the skulls of Low-Level Dragons," Grayfia spoke. She marveled at the pristine look of the gun as if it was just manufactured.

"Not only that, it's custom fitted with a bipod stand for stabilized aiming when prone and a reinforced, high-powered scope capable of up to 25X zoom with a large objective lens for a large field of view, MOA reticule for easier aiming over long distances, and adjustment knobs to fit the scope to my personalized requirements. The gun, in its entirety, is worth a little over 1,400,000 yen. Every 13 millimeter bullet for this gun costs around 1,100 yen. It's a powerful weapon I only use in dire circumstances," Ryuusuke said.

"Are you fuckin' serious?" Issei shouted as he nearly fell out of his seat. "Did ya buy that before or after ya went broke? Was it the reason ya went broke?"

"No comment," Ryuusuke said in a flat tone.

"And here I thought your aim with a revolver gun was crazy! You're gonna shoot someone's head off from a mile away with that thing!" Issei shouted. He was losing all composure by this point.

"Hyoudou, calm yourself," Ddraig spoke to Issei.

"Don't you think that gun's a little… heavy, dear?" Miu asked.

"Not at all, Mistress Miu. It only weighs eighteen or so kilograms; I've carried much more for much longer," Ryuusuke answered. He began to head further into the house and up the stairs on his way towards the attic. "I'm going to station myself on top of the house to keep watch for the targets."

"Well..." Haru began, adjusting his tie and running a hand through his wavy hair. "While Ryuu's doing that, I might as well get the kids. I'll explain the Devil stuff and whatnot to them along the way. You guys just keep Miu safe and make sure Ryuu doesn't hurt himself," Haru said before leaving the building.

The Devils watched as Haru went around to the side of the house after a sharp left turn. The rumbling of a car was heard before a gold-colored SUV emerged from around the corner and took off in the direction of Kuoh Academy.

* * *

"Sona… about that little outburst earlier…" Miu began. A prominent blush that matched the red lipstick she wore appeared on her light-skinned face. Her beautiful blue eyes were shuttered and pointed to the ground. "I would like to apologize for that. I was a little worried, you know? A single rumor could bring down everything if controversial enough. News of us dealing with a Devil would hurt our credibility and name in many ways. I just didn't want to lose everything after coming so far; that, and I'm a little explosive when it comes to my emotions."

"It's fine. I hold no ire nor vindictiveness towards your outburst. Your reasoning is sound, so I have no room to judge," Sona said.

Miu's eyes lightened back up and a smile formed on her face. Much like a smile from her daughter, Ai, it was a heartwarming sight. "Thank you, Sona dear."

"Should I go keep an eye on Ryuusuke?" Yuuto asked.

"Please do, Kiba," Rias answered.

Yuuto bowed to his King before heading up the stairs that led to the hallway with the drop-down attic door.

Miu clapped her hands together a single time. "So, how about we play a little game while we wait for my husband to get back?" she asked as she looked around at the Devils with her vibrant eyes and welcoming smile. "You are still my guests, supernatural beings of power or not; I have to keep you entertained somehow."

It was hard to believe that, from a person with such a psychotic killing instinct, she could just bounce back to being a beautiful and hospitable host. That alone made her seem a little more unsettling.

* * *

Once up on the roof, Yuuto made his presence known as to not have a hole put through him by Ryuusuke's T-Gewehr. "Hey, Ryuusuke. It's me, Kiba," he said before turning around a corner to see nothing. He looked up and saw the empty-eyed man staring at him from over the edge of a flat segment of the roof above Yuuto. Ryuusuke pulled his head back after identifying the blonde Devil.

Yuuto flew up to see Ryuusuke lying prone on the top part of the roof with a few sandbags placed behind the biped stand of his gun. The sandbags connected to others that formed a circle around him, allowing him some minor cover and the freedom to shift his aim without having to move the sandbags to accommodate. How or when he managed to place the sandbags up here was not known. Where the gun's stock and his shoulder met lied a pillow for extra cushioning.

"What is it, Creature Kiba?" Ryuusuke asked as he analyzed the Devil's eyes, making sure none of them were red and black. He turned his gaze back to the field upon realizing Yuuto's eyes were his usual blue hue.

"I just want to talk for a bit, if that's fine with you," Yuuto answered as he retracted his wings and sat down beside Ryuusuke's ring of sandbags.

"Fine. If I say shut up, though, I need you to shut up," Ryuusuke responded as he surveyed the field in front of them.

"Very well then," Yuuto replied.

"What do you need?" Ryuusuke asked.

"I saw what you have hiding in that shed. Do you want to explain anything?" Yuuto asked.

"No," Ryuusuke answered flatly.

Yuuto lied back in a more relaxed position, propping himself up with his arms as he leaned back. "I should've guessed. Those times in service still eat you up on the inside, huh?"

"You have not a clue what I went through. Had you seen, through my eyes, what I had seen— **what I had done** —you would understand why I'm done caring about much of anything that goes on nowadays. Anything not within my circle of interest tends to be shut out. The only thing holding me together is the shining beacon of hope that is my masters. Then again, what do creatures like you know? You revel in the suffering of others as you burn the souls of the damned just to hear them scream," Ryuusuke spoke.

"Still adamant about hating us, huh?" Yuuto asked with a sigh. He pulled himself back up and held his knees to his chest. He had to try to appeal to the stubborn man somehow. Yuuto could only think of one thing to break his shell: to appeal with what he had suffered. Yuuto's heart grew heavy as he remembered it all. "I'm not saying I know your pain, but I think I do know at least a similar magnitude."

"Bullshit," Ryuusuke said.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Yuuto said with an empty chuckle. He stared off into the field in front of them. "What if I told you the Church was capable of acts just as bad, if not more so, than what you think Devils do on a daily?"

"For once, I would believe you. Take the Holy Crusades for example: knights and templars killed civilians in the name of a god who condemned the murder of others for any reason. The Church has a history with trying to keep people pinned under its thumb without seeming or feeling morally wrong. That's why I see things in black and never in white; humanity only deserves Hell for the pile of murderers it has grown into," Ryuusuke answered.

"Well, I used to be an experiment for these weapons called Holy Swords," Yuuto said.

"You mean swords like Excalibur?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Yes, actually. Excalibur, in particular, was considered the most powerful Holy Sword before it broke," Yuuto said, his eyes now narrowed to a sullen glare. "You see, the Church gathered orphans who were deemed to be matches for Excalibur in a thing called 'The Holy Sword Project.' I was the only survivor after the Church I resided in killed all the children who failed their expectations and turned their souls into crystallized light energy."

"Sounds like something from the Holocaust," Ryuusuke said.

"After I escaped my captors, Rias found me and showed me kindness. She gave my life a new meaning when she made me her Knight. Like how you live to serve and protect the Kasais and their friends, I live to serve and protect Rias and whoever she deems a friend. By extension, that means you and I have to watch each other's backs. We're kindred spirits if you think about it," Yuuto spoke.

He looked over at Ryuusuke. His eyes seemed off. Yuuto couldn't explain it, but he could see a glint of something in the man's gaze. He could tell because he wasn't getting the usual chill from looking into his empty eyes. Was there really something still beating in his cold, dead heart?

"The world sucks, kid," Ryuusuke said. There were somber undertones to his voice. "It doesn't matter if you're young or old, good or evil, it will have its way with you until you're either broken in the soul, broken in the mind, or both. Some people can live with being broken while others can't," he spoke before blinking. That something in his eyes disappeared. "Did you find closure at the end of your trail?" he asked with his, once again, flat voice.

"Yes. The man who ran the project was killed and I am one with my lost friends," Yuuto answered.

"Good. That is good," Ryuusuke said.

"Kiba," a female voice spoke from behind the two.

Ryuusuke pulled out his Colt Python within the blink of an eye and pointed it right at the source of the voice.

Standing there, in the sights of a loaded barrel, was the dainty, white-haired Koneko Toujou. Despite having a gun pulled on her, her inexpressive gaze remained. Both of her eyes were gold in color, proving she was the real Koneko.

"It is a bad idea sneaking up on me, Creature Koneko," Ryuusuke said before holstering his gun.

"What is needed from me, Koneko?" Yuuto asked.

"The rest are playing Twister. Don't want to be anywhere near Hyoudou when they're playing that," Koneko said as she retracted her wings before walking over and sitting down on the other side of Ryuusuke.

"That is understandable, Creature Issei is not one to be trusted with a contact game. Is Mistress Miu playing as well?" Ryuusuke spoke.

"She's manning the spinner. Warned her not to play with that pervert," Koneko answered.

"Good," Ryuusuke said before peering down the scope of his T-Gewehr rifle.

"I heard you guys talking about heavy stuff," Koneko said.

"Yes. What of it?" Ryuusuke responded with an air of dismissiveness.

Koneko looked over to Yuuto. "Kiba, what's going on?"

"Should I tell her?" Yuuto asked as he looked directly at Ryuusuke.

Ryuusuke remained completely silent as he peered through his scope.

"He's an ex-soldier, isn't he?" Koneko asked.

"How did you figure that out?" Yuuto asked with wide eyes.

"It's kind of obvious. He's cold and brazen. He's a good shot. **He's got a fucking anti-tank rifle.** All of that sounds like military service to me," Koneko answered. She looked towards Ryuusuke. "Tell me I'm not right."

"She has a valid point. Even if I was a gun-nut, it would be unlikely for me to own such an expensive model with how I look if I wasn't otherwise," Ryuusuke responded. He shifted his position and placed his gun on the opposite side of his sandbag ring, allowing him to survey the woods behind the building. "I hope you aren't expecting to hear war stories from me. I'd rather die without my legacy being told. I have no past, nor do I have a future."

"Don't you have any family to go back to?" Koneko asked. She knew she made a mistake the moment those words escaped her mouth. "Sorry, you probably don't want to talk about it."

Ryuusuke's hands quivered. That little glint of something reappeared in his eyes as his breathing became labored. The cracks in his emotionless mask had shown themselves once again. "Must I say it again? **I have no past to go back to.** "

"I see," Koneko said. She peered off into the woods along with Ryuusuke.

"Tell me, Creature Koneko, why are you cold?" Ryuusuke asked. His voice, once again, bore those same somber undertones. "You're so young, yet you hold that same dead-to-the-world look in the eyes as I do. Devil or not, it is such a shame to be devoid of the gift of feeling at your age. The joys of youth bounce off your heart and the loves of life fail to warm your cold soul. Or are you just secretly a millennia old and jaded because you've seen the world for what it is, but just choose to take the form with which you last felt genuine happiness?"

"No, stupid," Koneko answered. She let out a sigh and a heaviness in her heart took root. "I… I don't have a past to go back to either."

"How much did you lose?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Everything. It was all because of my Stray Devil sister; she killed my parents and my previous master. For her actions, I was sentenced to death by the Devil Society out of the fear that I would become like her. I guess after I got used to being on the losing end, I just couldn't find it in myself to care anymore," Koneko said.

"Why did your sister kill them?" Ryuusuke asked.

"I don't know… I don't know, and I may never know," Koneko answered.

"You see? Devils don't thrive off of suffering like you think. We're a lot like humans, some more so than others. We're helping you and your masters not because we want to use you, but because we don't want to lose you," Yuuto said.

"If that's the case, then why don't you reincarnate us when we die? Sounds like a simple solution to me," Ryuusuke responded. His hands stopped quivering and his breathing returned to normal. The cracks in his mask had sealed themselves back up, at least for now.

"We don't have any say in that. Who gets reincarnated is up to Rias and Sona," Yuuto answered.

Ryuusuke pulled his focus away from his scope and turned his head towards Koneko, who was still feeling the weight of sorrow weighing her down.

"Look at it this way, Creature Koneko, you lost everything early. While that does turn out to be more painful than losing everything later on in life, it is far easier to recover from in my opinion. You were too young to promise those you loved safety only to bear the guilt of your failure. You were too young to let everyone down when they were counting on you the most. You were too young to do something you deeply regret after believing what you were doing was right," Ryuusuke spoke.

Tears welled up in Koneko's eyes. She quickly wiped them away only to have them reform almost immediately.

Ryuusuke sat up on his knees and reached over his ring of sandbags to put a hand on Koneko's shoulder.

"You're still a teenager with your whole life ahead of you. You have all the time in the world to forge yourself a new life from the ashes of the old one. This time, you can start a life wiser and more prepared. It will be difficult, but I know you can do it; the fact that you've pushed on for this long has more than proven that to me. Gradually, you'll see a little bit of who you used to be come back. Dare I say you'll even feel happy with due time," Ryuusuke went on.

Before Ryuusuke could say anything else, Koneko wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly.

"Shut up," Koneko said, tears falling from her face.

"So there is something in you struggling to stay alive," Ryuusuke said, putting a hand on Koneko's head. "Hold onto that and cherish it. Keep it alive for as long as you can."

"I could say the same to you," Yuuto said while bearing a large smile.

"Is that so?" Ryuusuke asked, turning his gaze to Yuuto.

There was rustling in the trees. Ryuusuke snapped back to his T-Gewehr, almost pulling Koneko with him as she hugged him. Yuuto and Koneko jumped to their feet, ready to fight. Ryuusuke surveyed the woods and followed any motion he saw. Everything traced back to a simple squirrel.

"False alarm. It's just fauna," Ryuusuke said as he pulled himself away from his gun's scope.

Yuuto and Koneko went back to sitting by Ryusuke's side, helping him keep watch.

"It may be a hunch, but I think there's a chance at fixing him. He doesn't seem too far gone yet; he wouldn't have opened up like he did otherwise," Yuuto thought.

"Feel happy with due time…" Koneko thought. Ryuusuke's words played on repeat in her head as she silently contemplated what he had said to her.

* * *

Back to the others, who were playing some games to pass the time until Haru got back with Ai, Daisuke, Ren, and Ran. There were three people playing Twister at once: Ruruko, Momo, and Tomoe. The three were locked in an intense match against each other, leaving them all tangled up in their own limbs.

Off to the side was the rest of the Devils cheering on one of the three competitors. Sona, as refined as she is, failed to show any favoritism by watching without cheering. Issei, however, couldn't care too much about the competition; the fact that he got to see multiple girls rubbing up against each other—sometimes in rather provocative or suggestive positions—sent him into a lecherous trance, staring at them with lustful eyes and a notable blush on his face.

Manning the spinner, as requested by Koneko before she went to the roof, was Miu. She was seated at the couch where her husband was when the Devils presented their true nature to him. Her angelic smile and gentle blue eyes watched over the three as she gave them instructions.

Akeno subtly made her way towards the seated Miu, passing behind the heavily distracted crowd of friends. A burning in her cheeks gave birth to a slight blush as she stared down at the ground and fidgeted with something in her hands: a small, folded piece of paper. When she reached Miu, she tapped on the woman's shoulder.

"Hmm?" Miu hummed. She turned to see Akeno with a reddened face. "What's the matter dear?"

Akeno stuck out a hand. In that hand held the paper she was fidgeting with. "Please hand this to Daisuke. I would give it to him myself, but he's too afraid of me to let me even get near him," she said.

A large smile stretched across Miu's face. "See, what did I tell you? You'd fall for him eventually," Miu teased as she took the paper.

"I just want to apologize to him," Akeno said.

Miu quietly giggled as she slid the paper between the couch cushions, not even taking the time to unfold and read what was on it. " _Just try not to break him, dear._ _I know you Devils are probably accustomed to sturdier people,_ " she remarked with a playful manner.

Akeno returned to where she once stood, passing behind her friends as she did so. The burning sensation in her face weakened to a point where her blush had vanished. Despite this, she still felt an air of uncertainty grip her lungs and heart.

Nothing else happened while Haru was gone. The group indoors kept playing Twister and the three on the roof continued to keep lookout.

* * *

After a while, the sounds of a car rolling by and slowing down were heard from outside; Haru had returned. The Devils indoors dropped what they were doing and stood at attention.

The front door swayed open, letting in Haru as he signaled something behind him into the house.

Following behind the wavy-haired giant was the princely Daisuke, who immediately turned to look at the Devils with a sharp amber glare.

Clinging to Daisuke's leg was Ran. The timid girl gripped her brother's leg tighter than usual as she buried her head into his leg, not even letting the light of day touch her amber eyes.

Following behind them was Ai, whose gentle blue eyes bore a saddened and somewhat fearful look. She stared at the ground instead of at who she thought of as friends. The sight weighed down the Devils' hearts with sorrow.

Grasping a hold of Ai's hand was Ren, who was missing his lively spirit and smile. The otherwise energetic and friendly boy stayed at the side of Ai farthest from the Devils and only periodically looked in their direction.

The four made their ways to the couch and sat by their mother while Haru stood between them and the Devils. Ai held Ren close to her while Ran buried her face into Daisuke's side.

Haru tugged at his tie, sighed, and turned towards the Devils with a nervous smile. "Well, I told them everything like I said I would, but they don't quite trust you even with my and Miu's vouching. That may be a little problem."

"Daisuke, we-" Sona began.

"We keep telling you, father, it's not about distrust; it's more or less unease," Daisuke interrupted. He spoke with an authoritative voice only recognized by Sona, which got her to quiet down and let him speak.

Daisuke turned his gaze towards the Devils before him. "To think we were this close to beings like you for so long completely unaware is immeasurably unnerving. To think a quartet of such unfathomable monstrosities were within arms-length of me not once, but twice is a truly horrifying thought. We don't know who to trust anymore after learning that almost everyone we bonded with over the course of a couple of weeks or so happened to be otherworldly beings either sent to kill us or watch over us," he spoke, gradually gripping his academy-mandated blazer harder and harder. "I'm going to be honest and blunt; we're going to be apprehensive because we are afraid for our bloody lives."

"And that is perfectly normal; we understand where you're coming from," Rias said.

"Like Hell you do," Daisuke barked. This aggressive behavior startled Rias, who had become accustomed to a more submissive and docile Daisuke. He stood up, hunched over with a finger pointed at Rias. "You have not a clue—not an iota of understanding or comprehension—pertaining to the near heart-stopping fear and anxiety of being hunted by beings you don't understand. Come back and say that when you're a powerless human on the hit-list of a ragtag group of monsters consisting of a boxer, a psychic, three shapeshifters, the undead, a werewolf, a demon wolf in human form, a bloody sea monster, and a literal specter of Death itself."

Ren and Ran quivered at the thought and at the violent tone of voice their older brother was harboring.

"Dai, please calm yourself; you're scaring Ren and Ran," Ai plead.

Daisuke looked down at his younger siblings and took a deep breath. He sat back down and crossed his arms.

"We may not be humans, but we are on their hit-list too. We heard something they deemed to be merit for uncontracted murder," Sona said.

"At least you can fend them off," Daisuke rebutted.

"No, Daisuke, we can't," Sona argued. She pointed towards Grayfia. "Had it not been for Lucifuge, we would've been dead and you would've been taken. They're a strong unit that we shouldn't have taken lightly."

"Then we really are doomed, aren't we?" Ran asked with a shaky voice and tears in her amber eyes.

"No, no, no. You don't need to worry about a thing, little one. With me here, they won't be able to harm you," Grayfia said with a gentle, almost motherly voice.

"How can you be sure?" Ran asked with a sniffle.

"In the Underworld, I'm considered one of the more powerful Devils; an Ultimate-Class one, if you will," Grayfia answered.

"Class?" Daisuke repeated.

"There are four classes of which a Devil can be: Low, Mid, High, and Ultimate. Low-Class Devils are commoners and most Reincarnated Devils. Mid-Class Devils are either powerful commoners or strong Reincarnated Devils. High-Class Devils are Devils like Rias and Sona who are born strong, but have not yet mastered their powers. Lastly, Ultimate-Class Devils are Devils like me who are born with great power that they have either mastered or are close to mastering," Grayfia explained.

"Can you give us an estimation on what classes the mercenaries would be?" Daisuke asked.

Rias put a finger to her chin. She pondered the battle before and what everyone else said about it. "I would say all but one member was somewhere within the range of Mid-Class to High-Class. The Lich is the one I am uncertain of. I'm feeling that one may have been either on the lower end of Ultimate-Class or just below it."

"The way I see it, wouldn't a band of High-Class level creatures overwhelm a singular Ultimate-Class Devil?" Daisuke asked, doubtingly tilting his head as he gazed at Grayfia.

"You underestimate me, dear. Even the Lich was rendered powerless against me," Grayfia answered.

"If that's the case, don't you think we're in good hands, Dai?" Ai asked with a weak voice.

"Not entirely. I get how you can keep tabs on me and Ai, but what about Ren, Ran, mother, and father? I know Grayfia can keep an eye on one of the four, but I'm not sure about how you can subtly keep an eye on the other three," Daisuke refutted.

"That's where these come into play," Sona said.

Sona and Rias raised their hands towards the family. Red magic circles appeared around Ai, Ren, and Miu while blue magic circles appeared around Daisuke, Ran and Haru. The young twins yelped and held onto their older siblings tightly as the circles appeared. The rest of the family fell into an awed stupor. The circles turned to red and blue dust that flew up into the air and culminated into an orb in front of each family member. The orbs hovered into the humans' chests. Briefly, symbols of the Sitri Clan and the Gremory Clan flashed on the chests of the corresponding family members before fading to nothing.

"What was that?" Miu asked, hovering her hands over her chest.

"They're targeted warping wards set to teleport you away from danger when the need arises. My spells—the blue ones—will send you to the Student Council Headquarters Transport Circle. Rias's spells—the red ones—will send you to the ORC Club House Transport Circle. At each location, there should be at least one of us to protect you and to warn the others," Sona answered.

"But how do we activate them?" Haru asked.

"You don't have to; they activate themselves whenever they detect danger. If, for whatever reason, you need to activate them yourselves, you must say either my or Rias's name three times consecutively," Sona answered.

Ren poked his chest. "Ooooo," he sounded. "Rias! Rias! Rias!" Ren closed his eyes and prepared himself for teleportation.

Nothing happened.

Ren opened his eyes and looked around to see, to his disappointment, that he had not moved at all. He closed his eyes again. "Sona! Sona! Sona!" he chanted.

Nothing happened.

Ren opened his eyes and was once again disappointed. "Hey, what gives?"

Rias giggled. "I knew at least one of you would try that. You have to say my full name for you to teleport, dear."

"Rias Gregory! Rias Gregory! Rias Gregory!" Ren chanted with his eyes closed once more.

Once again, nothing happened.

"Awww," Ren whined. He looked up at Rias. "What was your last name again?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, sweetie," Rias answered with a gentle smile.

* * *

Miu reached in between the couch cushions and picked up the paper Akeno had handed to her. She turned towards her eldest son. "Dai, dear, this came in the mail today. I don't know who it's from, but it was mailed to you," she said before handing the paper to Daisuke.

This piqued the interest of Sona, Rias, Tsubasa, and Reya. Having not seen Akeno hand the paper to Miu earlier, they had no clue of who sent it. Tsubasa and Reya were ecstatic; they thought it would be a "secret admirer" type of deal that would allow them to push Daisuke further into the world of dating and romance.

Sona was a little uneasy seeing the paper in Daisuke's hand; for what reason, she was unsure of.

Rias squirmed in her seat, hoping that the paper was from Akeno—who she was trying to get with Daisuke so she would get off of her Issei.

Akeno shirked away from looking at Daisuke as he held the paper.

Daisuke opened the paper and read it silently, much to the dismay of the four watching him. The tension was killing the four girls. A single brow on Daisuke's face rose. "Peculiar..." he whispered with a curious rumble in his voice as he folded the paper back up and slid it into his pants pocket. He tugged down on the cuffs of his black gloves.

"So… who's it from?" Tsubasa asked.

"Didn't say," Daisuke answered.

"Oh, I think I know…" Rias thought. Her blue eyes danced over to Akeno.

"That aside, where's Ryuusuke? I haven't seen him since we came in," Daisuke asked, peering around the room and into others from the comfort of the couch.

"Ryuu's up on the roof scouting the area," Haru answered.

"What does he think of this?" Daisuke asked.

"He's… reluctant to believe us, to say the least," Grayfia answered.

"Sounds typical of him," Daisuke said. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. When he opened them, the cutting nature of his glare was gone. "Did you give him one of these teleportation spells yet?"

"Not yet. I'll give one to him when he comes back down," Rias answered.

* * *

"I dare say that went swimmingly; I fully expected Dai to come out swinging when he came in" Miu said. Her remark was followed by a clap of her hands. "How do the rest of you feel about this arrangement?" she asked, looking back and forth at Ai, Ren, and Ran.

"I'm putting my full trust into them. They've treated us kindly thus far, I don't see why they'd change now," Ai said.

"Rias Grinry, Rias Grinry, Rias Grinry," Ren whispered. He seemed sold on the idea judging by his excited squirming upon completing every set of names.

Ran pulled her head from Daisuke's side. She sniffled and wiped away her tears. "Don't let us down; I'll never forgive you if you do."

"If push does come to shove, Rias and Sona can reincarnate four of you if you do die," Grayfia said.

"If that does happen, take our kids and leave our souls to rot. I'd rather let them have a second chance at life than me; I'm sure Miu thinks the same," Haru said.

Miu nodded in agreement.

"That's really bold of you guys," Issei said.

"Well, let's not dwell on such a grim possibility until it actually happens. Shall we continue our games?" Miu urged, grabbing the Twister game spinner she had placed by her and spinning it a few times. "I could call Ryuu down here too. He's a right champion at this game."

Ai stood up and made her way to the stairs. "I'll get some cards in case any of you want to test your luck against me," Ai said as she walked up the stairs.

"Ai, honey, could you bring Ryuu down while you're up there? I want him to at least bond a little with our guardian Devils," Miu asked with a loud voice. It wasn't a shout, but it was loud enough to be heard well through the house.

"Yes, mother," Ai answered.

"Guardian Devils, huh? I kinda like the sound of that," Issei thought.

* * *

 ** _ **Three 10,000+ word chapters in a row? I'm on a roll!**_**

 ** _ **It's about time the ORC and Student Council showed their true colors. I think the Kasais took it fairly well.**_**

 ** _ **Do I smell character development for Ryuusuke? No, seriously, do I?**_** ** _ **Most**_** ** _ **b**_** ** _ **irbs have a rather shoddy sense of smell, so I wouldn't know.**_**

 ** _ **Thank you all dearly for reading my story this far in. It means quite a lot to me that, somewhere within the realms of possibility, I could entertain even a single soul for as long as I have.**_**


	19. Volume 2:Life 7

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _Arrangements and a Three-Person Conundrum._**

After spending the rest of the day hanging out together, the humans and the Devils had to retire to slumber for the night. To ensure maximum protection, the Devils slept in guest rooms provided by the Kasais. The night was a pleasant one: far more than usual now that the burden of keeping themselves secret had been lifted from their shoulders. A new day awaits.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy**** ** **Schoolyard**** ** **,**** ** **9**** ** **:45 PM****

While Grayfia watched over the Kasai's home, the rest of the young Devils and the human family were able to go on with their usual schedules. Haru and Miu went to their jobs while the four Kasai siblings and the young Devils went to school.

With their next classes delayed momentarily for reasons not yet stated by the school officials, Ai, Daisuke, and Issei were left to roam the schoolyard in between classes. While there weren't many students around at this time, several of those who were present stared with awe and adoration at Daisuke. This wasn't the typical adoration, though; word of his brave acts of heroism during yesterday's harsh storm circulated quickly through the student body.

A select few ran up to him and gave him gifts and, sometimes, a peck on the cheek. Each occurrence never failed to make him blush and, in the case of females, freeze up due to his bashfulness. Despite this, he was still able to respond to such kindness with a "Thank you," each time. Had it not been for Akeno's mischief chipping away at the man's overbearing shyness, it wouldn't have been too farfetched to assume he would suffer a fatal heart attack at some time during it all.

"As if ya weren't popular enough, huh," Issei remarked with a chuckle as Daisuke struggled to hold onto all of the gifts given to him. "Need some help with that?"

"Yes please," Daisuke answered. He split his burden with Issei, but still held onto most of it. "Thanks, mate,"

"Hey, ya don't have to hold out on me. I'm not gonna make off with 'em," Issei said with a smile, offering to hold more weight for his friend.

"It's not like that, mate. I just feel that I should at least carry some of my own weight considering that you and your friends are already carrying me and my family on your backs," Daisuke said.

"So, ya really don't hate us for lyin' to you guys this whole time?" Issei asked.

"I felt a little betrayed at first, of course, but I can't say I hated you. Even then, what merit or grounds do I have to rationally hate you? You all are going out of your way and sticking your necks out for our safety. I say that more than makes up for the lie," Daisuke answered.

As Daisuke spoke, Issei's curiosity got the better of him. He sifted through Daisuke's gifts and found something delightful. His face burned up and his mouth curled into a depraved smile. "Holy shit, dude. Some girl literally gave you her panties," he said with a blush and a perverse gleam in his eyes.

Daisuke's sharp eyes shot wide open and his heart skipped a beat. "Excuse me, what?" he asked with a heightened tone of voice, blushing with a red hue far deeper than Issei's.

"Oh my," Ai whispered before gently covering her mouth with both of her hands. A pressure forced its way up Ai and escaped in the form of rampant giggling.

"And judgin' by the size, she's got some junk in her trunk. I might be a connoisseur of nice cans, but even I can appreciate a good pair of buns," Issei added with eyes closed by delight. A streak of warm blood ran down his left nostril and a rush of pure euphoria ran through his body.

"Bloody Hell, Issei. Know some decency. The lady didn't entrust me with them for you to gawk at them like a preteen freshly starting puberty," Daisuke muttered with a mildly aggressive tone. His still present blush, however, made it difficult to take him seriously.

"It ain't like she's gonna find out, dude. I wonder if her name's on the tag," Issei rebutted. With glee by his side, he fumbled with the undergarments in his attempt at finding some sort of name.

Ai was left a giggling mess. "Issei, dear, please don't," she said with what little restraint she had left before plucking the undergarments and continuing her giggling fit, unable to stop herself from that point on.

"What? It ain't like he's gonna be doin' anything with it," Issei spoke with a jovial timbre and a smile. " _Unless, of course, there's somethin' ya wanna admit to,_ " he suggested with a faint voice as he cut a glare with a raised brow and a smug, somewhat playful grin at Daisuke.

Daisuke's eyes narrowed and he cut a piercing, side-eyed glare at Issei. "I'm not sure if I like what you're implying," he said with a slight growl in his voice.

"Come on, dude. Anybody who has ever had a girlfriend has got to have some sorta freaky bone in their body, right?" Issei said with a spirited wink while nudging his friend with his elbow.

"Venery and other such lecherous things are always on your mind, aren't they?" Daisuke muttered with closed eyes and a fatigued voice. He signaled Issei to give him his ear.

Issei obliged and leaned in, brushing his wild and brown hair away from his ear as he placed a hand behind it.

"I would much rather not talk about this with others nearby, much less with my own bloody sister standing right behind me," Daisuke spoke with a hushed, yet adamant voice.

"Oh, I gotcha," Issei responded with a quieted voice as well. He pulled his head away. "But seriously, what are ya gonna do with those if you're not a perv like me?" he asked with his standard volume as he straightened his posture.

"Dai thinks it is rude to turn down a gift of any kind, including gifts such as these," Ai answered, holding up the gifted panties softly gripped between a finger and thumb. "As a result, he hands these kinds of gifts to me so I can put them in a box under my bed. Mother and father won't question me as much if they do find them," Ai answered.

Issei's eyes shot wide open. "A box full of 'em? Are you serious?" He understood that the princely human was popular with women, but this news still left him speechless

"I never said the box was full, dear, but there is still a fair number in it," Ai corrected.

"I will never understand why you don't think girls would love to date you, man," Issei said.

"I tend to think of myself as a false diamond ring. Yes, I seem nice and desirable upon first inspection; but when exposed for prolonged amounts of time, the reality of what I am tends to disappoint," Daisuke responded.

Issei felt a burn in his chest. He had grown tired of Daisuke selling himself short. He was basically living Issei's dream before he became a Devil, but was squandering it with his crippling self-consciousness. "Alright bud, I'm gonna be real with you here," Issei said with narrowed eyes. "You look and talk like royalty. You're gonna be filthy fuckin' rich in the near future. You're a better man than most people I know; you braved a nightmare of a storm, by yourself, to save your family and fellow students for God's sake." A sharp pain pierced Issei's head and stopped his train of thought. He buckled down onto one knee from the pain and let out a yelp, but was careful to not drop any gifts onto the ground.

The two siblings stopped walking. With Daisuke being too preoccupied with carrying gifts at the moment, Ai jolted to action before her brother could even have a chance at tending to his hurt friend.

"What's wrong, dear?" Ai asked, kneeling down beside Issei and firmly holding him in place for support.

"Agh, shit!" Issei shouted. The rush of pain left as soon as it arrived and Issei was able to stand on his feet again. "Don't worry about it. Nothin' major," he said, prompting Ai to let him go. He turned to face Daisuke again. "What I'm trynna tell ya is that there is nothin' about you that is false."

Daisuke chuckled and slowly shook his head. "You have no clue, mate. Not a single clue," he muttered.

The way he said those words sounded ominous to Issei. They sounded almost foreboding in a way. A mild chill ran down his spine. "What do you mean by that?"

Daisuke's eyes, for the briefest of moments, shot wide open before returning to their naturally sharp state.

"Forget about it, mate. I really shouldn't talk about that," Daisuke said, waving his hand dismissively before it shot back down to help his other hand carry his load of gifts.

"No, dude. If there's somethin' stoppin' ya from getting the babes you deserve, I'm gonna fix it for ya even if I have to fight a damn Dragon," Issei spoke with a strong voice and determination in his brown eyes.

"Hey, you guys!" a familiar voice sounded to the right of the three. They turned their collective attention to see Motohama and Matsuda a fair distance away, jogging towards the three.

"Hello dears!" Ai responded with a wave and a gentle smile.

"Hey, mates!" Daisuke followed. He, too, returned with a wave and a smile. The pile of gifts tremored, forcing Daisuke to bring his hand back down to equalize the distribution of weight.

"I guess we'll get to that later," Issei thought before waving to his two other human friends.

The two reached the sides of Ai, Daisuke, and Issei in short time. Immediately, they took note of the piles of objects Daisuke and Issei were carrying.

"I see you got well rewarded for your heroism," Motohama remarked, adjusting his thick glasses as he gawked at the pile of trinkets and gifts.

"Damn right," Matsuda agreed. He walked up and propped himself up on Daisuke's shoulder. "You shoulda seen the shit he was doin' yesterday, dude. He was like a knight ripped straight from one of those fairy tales."

"Yeah, I believe ya," Issei responded.

A slight blush appeared on Daisuke's face. "As much as I do appreciate the praise, please do give some credit to Ai for her part."

"Ai's part?" Issei repeated. With widened eyes, he looked towards the tall woman.

Ai's gentle blue eyes jolted open. "Oh, I completely forgot to tell you, didn't I? I'm terribly sorry,"

"It's fine. What's not fine is that you don't have any gifts yourself," Issei said, taking note of Ai's empty hands. The injustice of such a kind girl's efforts being overshadowed completely caused Issei's blood to boil. Despite this, he held a complacent expression as to not cause worry to Ai.

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. Aside from the kind smiles and warm welcomes I would usually accept as more than enough reward, I was given quite a load of material possessions the moment I came into the building," Ai responded. A redness appeared on her round face. She hid her face by slightly turning her head away from her friends and resting it on her hand. "Honestly, it was a little overwhelming. I can see how Dai could feel so nervous when people clamor around him."

"Where are your gifts at?" Issei asked with a raised brow. His boiling blood simmered back down.

"I had Ryuu come down here and bring them home for me. I'll probably have to call him down again to help Dai, but I want to give the man a break; it was quite a lot for him to carry," Ai answered.

"Alright. Good," Issei spoke with a couple of nods. "What did you do during the storm, by the way?"

"Ai nursed students Daisuke brought in from the storm," Motohama said.

Issei's mind immediately hit the gutter. "The hot type of nursed or the healing type of nursed?" he asked. Thoughts of Ai undoing her bra and exposing her breasts flashed in Issei's mind, getting his heart thumping faster and awakening a little something down south. It only got worse as he imagined himself being on the receiving end of Ai's "nursing." Then the visualization of a table being broken in two flashed through his mind, snapping him from his perversed daze.

Ai put her hand up to her mouth and was sent into a giggling fit. "The healing type, dear," she answered before giggling some more.

"I guess that does make sense considering how she grew up. Some of the street kids I knew from when I was a kid knew how to mend a wound, so I shouldn't be all too surprised," Issei thought, watching the woman as she struggled to control herself. "Go down before someone notices, dude," he thought in regards to his little friend between his legs.

After another moment or so of light laughter, Ai was finally able to recompose herself enough to speak. "Dear, why on earth would I breastfeed high school students during such a dreadful storm? It just sounds a little silly, if I'm going to be honest."

"I dunno. Maybe to calm 'em. I mean, it'd sure as Hell calm me down if I was suckin' on your tit in that mess of a storm," Issei responded.

Ai, once again, held her hands up to her cheeks to hide a blush. "Oh my. You sure you don't want to rephrase that?"

Immediately, Issei realized what would follow after such a lecherous remark towards the tall woman. He looked towards Daisuke to see the man staring daggers at him with narrowed amber eyes. His death stare seemed a little more angry than usual. A biting chill coursed through Issei's whole body.

"We may be friends and all, but I will punch your gonads up into your throat and back down again in rapid succession," Daisuke said with a deathly serious tone of voice. A vein swelled on his forehead and his jaw was tightly locked in place.

Seeing her brother with such an ireful response, Ai turned to Daisuke. "Dai, please calm down. I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue."

"Even if that is the case, I'm still not fond of him saying that towards you. I've grown fairly used to your tendencies, but I will not tolerate such behavior directed towards my sister," Daisuke refuted, his harsh gaze still withstanding as he stared Issei in the eyes.

"Let's… uh… change the subject before things get ugly," Motohama suggested with a shaky voice. He tapped Daisuke's shoulder. "A girl with heterochromia was searching for you. I think her name was Tsubaki."

"Ah, Vice-President Shinra. She must need me for council work, no doubt. Here, mate," Daisuke said before abruptly handing the rest of his gifts to Issei for him to carry, making sure he struggled to catch and hold onto each gift with a lick of vindictiveness. He smiled as Issei struggled.

"Hey, slow down will ya?" Issei asked as Daisuke filled his arms with the various trinkets he was holding. He struggled in desperation, trying his hardest to not let even a single fragile object touch the hard concrete path below. Though successful, he was left with light panting.

"Where is she now?" Daisuke asked.

"She was down by the ol' assembly hall when she approached us," Matsuda answered.

"Understood," Daisuke said with a nod before making his way towards the academy building. Midway through his stride, he stopped and turned back towards Issei. "Just keep your hands off of my sister and there shouldn't be trouble between me and you," he said before turning back around and continuing his walk.

"Jeez, it was just a harmless remark," Matsuda said in a quiet tone.

"Don't mind his aggression; he just doesn't want to see me hurt the way he was, dear," Ai said.

"Hurt the way he was?" Matsuda repeated with a raised brow. "What do ya mean by that?"

"You mean he never told you guys?" Issei inquired. Excitement coiled in his chest like a spring.

"Well, I wouldn't be askin' if he did," Matsuda answered.

"Did he have a bad relationship in the past or something along those lines?" Motohama asked.

Issei, seeing the opportunity to gossip a little and catch his friends up with current events, took his shot. "Bunker down, boys. I'm gonna tell you a tale."

"A tale of wha-" Matsuda began.

"Shh shh shh. It'll make sense in a minute," Issei hushed his friend in a playful manner.

"Ai, what's he going on about?" Motohama asked.

"Just let Issei have his fun; he'll probably be able to tell it better than I can anyway," Ai answered with a gentle smile and closed eyes.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy Hallway, 9:45 AM****

Since they were in the same class as Issei and, by extension, Ai and Daisuke, Xenovia and Asia were left to their own devices in an empty hallway as they waited out the delay. Something seemed to irk Asia, to which Xenovia took note of.

"Is there a problem, Asia?" Xenovia asked, glancing over at the petite priestess with an inexpressive, side-eyed glare.

Asia glanced down to the ground with sullen green eyes. A feeling of dread constricted her heart. "It's nothing."

"You do remember that lying is a sin?" Xenovia inquired.

"I-I…" Asia stuttered as her heart became heavy. She turned her head towards Xenovia and looked up to her with distressed eyes. The words danced in her throat, only coming out when they felt like it. "Do… Do you think Ai's going to… replace me in Issei's heart?"

"What?" Xenovia asked, her otherwise stern face bearing wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"I-I mean, she's a lot like me behavior-wise, prettier than me, and has got larger breasts than I do to top it off," Asia answered before peering down at her own chest and sighing. A feeling of inadequacy weighed her down, sinking her heart deep. "Whenever I'm around her, I can't help but feel like a child."

"Asia, you don't need to worry about that. You're an invaluable member to us," Xenovia said.

"But I want to be an invaluable member to Issei too," Asia retorted with a soft voice. She held her hands up to her chest, sullen eyes still tainting her pure and positive air. Her mouth curled downwards, forming a frown.

Xenovia turned towards the blonde former priestess and stroked her head. "I'm sure he thinks of you as irreplaceable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked life and limb for you before and after you became a Devil. Ai's more voluptuous, but that doesn't mean she's going to steal your place in Issei's heart. She's very hands-off and benevolent in almost everything she does; I don't think she would even try to enter someone's love life if she knew it meant hurting another. On top of that, I think Daisuke and Ryuusuke would be very much against the idea of Ai being in a relationship with Issei; and you know he would rather avoid angering those two for the sake of their friendship, if not out of fear of losing a kidney to that crazy hobo," Xenovia explained with a gentle voice as she began to stroke the top of Asia's head.

"Do you really think so?" Asia asked, looking up at her fellow former daughter of God. The cruel fingers wrapped around her heart loosened their grip.

"I am certain," Xenovia answered, her mouth curling into a light smile.

Asia's eyes lost that worried look and she, too, gained a light smile. The weight on her heart lost its grip and faded away. "Thank you, Xenovia. I needed that."

"Just a fair warning, though: don't think for a second that I'm going to let up on him," Xenovia said.

"Understood," Asia said with a nod.

* * *

"Miss Quarta!" the voice of a young boy sounded from somewhere down the hallway.

The two turned towards the voice to see Ren, his blue eyes twinkling with energy and joy as he ran to them while waving an arm through the air. Behind him was Ran, whose amber eyes cut from left to right every second or so as she followed behind her twin-brother.

"Ren, come back! We aren't supposed to be in the high school division! We'll get in trouble if a teacher finds us here!" The young girl shouted to her brother.

The young boy took little time making it to Xenovia's and Asia's sides. Ran, however, stood behind him once she caught up and nervously glanced off in every direction with worried eyes.

"Ren? What are you doing here? You should be in class," Xenovia said as she leaned herself forwards with her hands on slightly bent knees.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday. Me and Ran are graduating from the elementary school division this year. I want to know if you'll be there for the ceremony when the year's over," Ren said with plentiful energy.

"Of course I'll be there, Ren. Why would I want to miss that?" Xenovia answered with a smile.

"If Miss Quarta is going to be there, will you be there too, Miss Argento?" Ran asked with a soft voice.

"Yes, I will be there too," Asia answered.

"Miss Quarta," Ren began, waiting for a response from the Devil.

"Yes?" Xenovia answered, prompting Ren to finish his thought.

"Do you wanna go searching for animals with me tomorrow?" Ren asked as he hopped in place. "I think I saw a Giant Salamander in the woods behind the club house when me and Ryuu went exploring a few days ago."

"But don't those live near streams and the like?" Xenovia asked with a raised brow.

"Yes. That means there has to be a stream somewhere in the woods. I would love to see what kinds of little fishies and snakes I can find there," Ren answered, now hopping with increased velocity and intensity the more he spoke.

"Sure. We'll go on a little sightseeing trip through the woods tomorrow. Maybe you can teach me a little about the animals there," Xenovia answered as she pat the young boy on his wild black-haired head.

"Yay!" Ren shouted with joy as he threw his arms up in the air.

"Since Ren's going with Miss Quarta tomorrow, do you think you can..." Ran spoke before going on a long pause. She stared down at the ground as she ran her hands through the two long locks of black hair that dangled from each side of her head.

"Do you want to meet my friends tomorrow?" Asia asked.

Ran's head and eyes shot up from the ground. "How did you know?" she asked with wide eyes.

"A lucky guess, I suppose," Asia answered with a light giggle.

Ran flung her arms behind her back and glanced down at the ground bashfully. "Well, can I? I don't want to be alone, and I want to see if your friends are as nice as you,"

"Sure. Don't you worry about being alone; I'll be by your side the entire time," Asia answered with a cheerful tone and tilt of the head.

Ran flung her arms around Asia and hugged her. "Thank you, Miss Argento."

"Alright now, you two should probably be heading back. It would be bad if you missed your next class," Xenovia said.

"Oh, you didn't hear? All classes have been delayed for two hours," Ren spoke.

"Two hours? But why? Did something happen?" Asia asked with worried eyes.

"Some of the teachers got seriously hurt in the storm yesterday; they couldn't come today because of that. We're waiting for administration to give each substitute their schedule," Ran answered.

Asia clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "Oh God, our Lord and Father, please give them a good rest and a swift recovery," Asia said before buckling over. A sharp pain coursed through her head and she let out a meek cry of pain.

"Miss Argento!" Ran shouted as she hugged the priestess. She kissed her forehead much like how a mother would kiss a wound on her child.

"What's wrong with her?" Ren asked with a frightened glimmer in his eyes.

"Devils can't speak the name of the Biblical…" Xenovia began, stopping herself right before she made the same mistake Asia made with speaking God's name.

"The Biblical what?" Ren asked.

"The Biblical Creator and some things associated with him," Xenovia answered.

"Oh, I see. Since Devils are unholy, sacred words hurt you," Ran said while she caressed the head of the pained Asia.

"Yes, exactly that," Xenovia said while pointing at the amber eyed girl and giving her a thumbs up gesture.

"But shouldn't saying biblical hurt you too?" Ren asked.

"No. Saying the name of said book, though, will hurt us," Xenovia answered.

Asia, having recovered from her Holy intervention-induced migraine, let out a relieved sigh.

"Why were you praying for them in the first place if you're a Devil?" Ran asked. "It doesn't make sense to me why you would actively hurt yourself trying to say something."

"Well, me and Asia were once women of the faith. I guess old habits die hard even in death," Xenovia answered.

"Do you still believe in your faith?" Ran asked.

Xenovia scratched the back of her head as a gesture of hesitance. "Well, yes. With that being said, though, I have become a little more open-minded considering the fact that other pantheons do, in fact, exist."

"I guess that does make sense," Ran said before turning to look at Asia. "What about you, Miss Argento? Do you still believe?"

"Why yes, I do still believe. I actually pray every morning and tough through the headaches they give me because I, despite having become a Devil, still love God," Asia answered. Once again, she buckled and folded in pain. The pain wasn't as burning or piercing as her full-on prayer, but it was enough to earn a yelp from the former priestess.

"Please, Miss Argento, stop saying his name. I don't want you to hurt yourself like this," Ran plead as she once again caressed Asia's head.

It took Asia little time to recover from her surge of pain. "I'm fine, truly. I've gotten used to the pain… for the most part at least," Asia said. She looked down at the young girl's worried eyes and her heart felt heavy. "But for you, I'll try to hold my tongue a little when you're around so you don't have to see me in pain. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Okay, but I'll hold you to it." Ran answered. Her eyes returned to their usual, Koneko-level blankness. She turned to her brother. "Ren, we have to go. If a teacher sees us in the high school division, we'll be in trouble for sure."

Ren's eyes narrowed slightly. "Come on, Ran. We can't get in trouble if they can't catch us."

"They'll remember our faces and other details and inform the administrator though," Ran refuted.

Ren forcefully sighed in defeat and his energetic vibe faded. He slumped over in an exaggerated manner. "Fine, we'll go back."

The two turned around and headed back the direction they came from. Right before they turned around a bend in the hallway, Ren turned around and waved to Asia and Xenovia. Ran poked herself around the corner and pulled Ren along with her.

* * *

"They're such a cute pair, aren't they?" Asia asked.

"Yes, they are," Xenovia answered.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House,**** ** **10:00 AM****

After telling the story of how Daisuke became what he was today, Issei and Ai received word from Motohama and Matsuda that class wouldn't be beginning until 11:45 PM. The two decided to stay at the club house while they waited for Ryuusuke to arrive and pick up Daisuke's gifts.

* * *

There wasn't so much as a soul in sight when they arrived, giving the otherwise lively building an air of ominosity. The two sat in the main room of the club house with Daisuke's gifts placed on a table in front of them. All Ai had to do now was make a call to have Ryuusuke come to pick them up.

Ai punched in a string of numbers on her phone. As she did so, Issei rummaged around in the pile of gifts. He pulled, from the pile, a gold colored and metallic rectangular prism: a game case of sorts.

"Oh, sick! Someone gave the dude Devil Will Weep: Gold Edition!" Issei shouted. He, being a fan of the series, couldn't help but feel a bitter, biting sensation in his chest. Nonetheless, he shrugged such an unpleasant feeling off. "It's got CO-OP. Maybe he'll let me hang out and play this sometime," he thought.

The sudden shout startled Ai and caused her to fumble with her phone.

"Goodness, Issei, you just about gave me a heart attack," Ai said with a chuckle.

"Sorry about that," Issei said as he opened the game case. "It's even got the exclusive poster in it."

Ai looked back down at her phone and found that, while fumbling with her phone, she had pressed an incorrect number. The phone rang and a rough male voice was heard over the speaker.

"How much do you want and where do you wanna meet?" the voice spoke.

Ai froze up, unsure of who she just called.

Issei, too, went completely silent. He had an idea of who she had called, but remained silent as to not urge a violent response from the voice. A forefront feeling of cold dread blocked off a welling energy in his chest that tried desperately to force its way up.

"Hello! Speak up for fuck's sake! I can't be on here for too long or they'll trace my damn calls!" the voice spoke with an angry tone.

More silence came from the two.

"Fuck it. Lose my number or you're gonna lose your fingers," the voice spoke before a beep was heard from the phone; he hung up.

A moment of silence went by. Ai was confused, to say the least, with eyes wide and mouth agape.

Suddenly, hysterical laughter erupted from Issei as he tossed around on the couch and wrapped his arms around his midsection. He laughed so much and so intensely, his midsection started feeling sore.

"Well, that was a little worrying," Ai said before sighing a sigh of relief.

Issei, after abundant laughter, was able to recompose himself. "What are the chances of ya misdialing a drug-dealer?"

"A lot higher than most people think, really. I should know; I had a handful of friends who were drug-dealers or who grew up to be as such when I was in my earlier years," Ai said before she tried punching in numbers again.

* * *

"So, have you actually ever had a boyfriend?" Issei asked.

She stopped dialing for a moment and turned to Issei. "No, not really. Every boy I met either left me when I turned a new leaf or was too harsh of a person for me to get into any romantic relations with," Ai answered. She didn't seem saddened by this fact as evidenced by her persistent smile. "What about you?"

"Oh, that's a little complicated," Issei said, scratching the back of his head while doing so.

"Why is that?" Ai asked. She abruptly smacked her hand against her forehead. "Never mind, I probably shouldn't be asking you such personal questions. I'm sorry."

Issei sighed. "No, it's fine. I kinda wanted to talk about it anyway since you already went and told your life story. It wouldn't be fair to keep anymore secrets from you anyway since… ya know… the whole Devil revelation yesterday." Issei leaned back into the couch.

Ai deleted the current number entry and put her phone on the table. She wanted to hear what Issei had to say.

A hollow feeling in Issei's chest took hold as he recalled his time with his first love. "You know how I'm a pervert that no girl wanted to have around?" Issei asked.

"I'm sure there had to be have been some girl out there, but yes," Ai answered.

"Well, I met this beautiful girl named Yuuma Amano. She was as sweet as could be with giving a perv like me a chance. I honestly felt blessed when I was with her, like it was too good to be true," Issei said. The emptiness in his heart expanded, but he tried to hide it from Ai as best as he could.

"And it turned out to be so, didn't it?" Ai asked. Her smile faded and her joyful eyes fell sullen.

"Yeah. It turned out she was an Angry Maximilian BDSM lookin' Fallen Angel sent to kill me because of this thing called a Sacred Gear: Boosted Gear to be accurate," Issei said.

"Sacred Gear?" Ai repeated.

"Powerful artifacts given to humans that give them crazy powers. I got one that housed a Heavenly Dragon: one of the most powerful things in the world. His name is Ddraig, and he kinda acts as a tutor and a partner to me," Issei explained. He manifested Boosted Gear on his arm to show Ai what he meant.

"That sounds absolutely amazing," Ai said. For a brief moment, her woe was overshadowed by wonder as she marveled at the red, draconic gauntlet on Issei's arm. She snapped back into her sullen state. "It must've been traumatizing having the first girl in your life turn out to be the one tasked with killing you."

"Yeah, it kinda was," Issei answered.

"I may not be a licensed psychologist, but I could try to help you," Ai offered.

"No, you don't have to do that," Issei refused.

"No, I insist," Ai urged, trying to caress Issei.

"No!" Issei shouted, pushing Ai's arms away from him. Despite him wanting the help, he couldn't bring himself to accept Ai's offer.

"Oh, I see. I see what she did. Such a cruel woman," Ai said with a hushed voice. She hung her head and her long, black hair obscured her face from Issei. "The first girlfriend you ever had killed you. Ever since, you've been unable to truly connect with another woman. You're afraid… afraid they'll break your heart like she did."

"It isn't like that," Issei said, leaning himself forwards to try and get a look at Ai's face.

"No, it is. I know. I know all too well," Ai said. Though her face was obscured from Issei's view, it was obvious she was beginning to cry based upon the sudden wet circles on the floor and the occasional jolt of her shoulders.

"Ai, please don't cry," Issei said. He tried to put a hand on the tall girl's shoulder. "And what's this about knowing? I thought you said you never had a boyfriend."

"I'm sorry, I really am," Ai said.

"Ai, you didn't do anything to me. You don't need to apologize to me," Issei said, moving the girl's hair out of her face. His heart sank to deep depths at the sight of a weeping Ai. It seemed all her vibrant colors had drained from her as she cried into her palms.

"But I do. Give me a moment, I beg you," Ai plead before rushing off further into the club house.

* * *

"What on earth was that about?" Issei asked.

"Do you think she actually had a male partner she kept secret?" Ddraig asked Issei.

"It isn't like her to lie," Issei responded.

"Hmmm… I say it would be best to at least accept her help. Maybe we can get some answers out of her then," Ddraig suggested.

"But…" Issei began.

"No 'buts' Hyoudou. You know just as well as I that all that woman wishes to do is help others. I know it's hard for you to do, but you have to at least try and accept her aid," Ddraig interrupted.

Issei was silent for a moment as he contemplated on what to do. He weighed the pain of his anxiety against the pain of seeing Ai cry. There was much internal deliberation, but he made his choice in the end. "Fine, I'll try. But if I have to start committing emotionally, I'm gonna have to step out."

"That is fine. Her help shouldn't encroach on the romantic anyway judging by how passive she tends to be," Ddraig responded.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy**** ** **Assembly Hall**** ** **, 10:0**** ** **0**** ** **AM****

After being told that Tsubaki was searching for him in the academy's assembly hall, Daisuke made his way to where the heterochromic-eyed council Vice-President was last seen.

Once at the assembly hall, Daisuke hung around the entrance of the currently dark and empty room. He surveyed the area, peering left and right with observant eyes to see nothing within both the darkness and the bright hallway. Daisuke reached further into his pocket the longer he went without seeing a single soul.

"Hello, Daisuke," a feminine voice said from behind the amber-eyed student.

Daisuke jumped and swiftly pulled out his pocketknife, which he flipped open with expertise and held it up towards the voice.

It turns out the voice was Tsubaki, who threw up both of her hands the moment the knife was pointed at her throat. Her widened eyes were colored with their typical light-brown and violet combination, ensuring she wasn't one of the two red-and-black-eyed Doppelgängers.

"Last name, position in council, and position in President's Peerage," Daisuke demanded as he tested her.

"Shinra, Vice-President, and President's Queen," Tsubaki answered as she nudged the knife away from her.

"My apologies, Vice-President," Daisuke said as he flipped the knife shut and put it back in his pocket.

Tsubaki let out a relieved sigh. "I appreciate the vigilance, but was the questionnaire really necessary?"

"I had to be sure you weren't that third Doppelgänger; the one without the one abhorrent eye that can mask itself perfectly," Daisuke answered.

"Fair point," Tsubaki remarked. She adjusted her glasses and placed her hands down by her waist. "Do note, however, that Doppelgängers can't cast shadows,"

"They can't?" Daisuke asked. He looked down by Tsubaki's feet and saw a shadow stretching from her into the lightless assembly hall.

"Yes, that is correct. Please use that information next time. It isn't enjoyable having a blade put up to one's throat even as a Devil," Tsubaki answered.

"My apologies," Daisuke said with a bow. "Pardon me for asking, but why didn't you tell us that yesterday?" Daisuke asked.

"Doppelgängers are truly elusive creatures. Even now, we are finding new things about them through various texts at our disposal," Tsubaki said before tilting her head and putting her index finger to her chin. "Oddly enough, they seem to be afraid of other color-changing organisms and organisms that rely on mimicry."

"That sounds rather ironic," Daisuke remarked.

Tsubaki leaned forwards, dropping her finger from her chin. "Oh, and get this: they can't mate with each other. They can only mate with other humanoids," Tsubaki said.

"Their genetic code must be quite an enigma," Daisuke noted with a low volume as his eyes wandered up to the ceiling with a hand to his chin.

"They're such capable shapeshifters, their very genetic code is capable of mimicking the code of their mates; thus making their own codes incompatible with each other as both codes would mimic each other and change their composition ad infinitum and ultimately harbor no young," Tsubaki explained. Her eyes shot open and she lightly tapped the side of her head. "Let's drop this subject for now, at least; as fascinating as these creatures are, we're getting off track."

"Of course. What do you need of me, Vice-President?" Daisuke asked while standing as straight as a pole with his arms interlocked behind his back.

"I have a task I need you to take care of. You see, the administrator needs someone to head down to the academy's copying room and bring, to his office, a stack of papers. They are a series of schedules that will be looked over, revised if need be, and handed out to the substituting instructors," Tsubaki explained.

"Consider it done," Daisuke said with another bow before he began walking off towards his destination.

"I'm not done talking," Tsubaki said.

Daisuke turned around and bowed once again. "Sorry, Vice-President."

"When you get to the administrator's office, be sure to associate yourself with the administrator himself. Tell him I sent you and follow his directions if he issues you any," Tsubaki explained. She plucked her glasses from her face and began cleaning them. "You are free to go."

"Yes, Vice-President," Daisuke said with a final bow before turning around and heading to his destination, this time without an interruption. Once out of sight of his superior, Daisuke accompanied his task with a jog to and from his destination to make things just a little quicker while getting in some cardio.

* * *

Along the way, he couldn't help but notice how empty the halls were considering the fact that classes were delayed a substantial amount of time. There was bound to be at least one person propped up against the wall on their phone, texting. Though not a soul was seen indoors, a crowd of students were seen outside a few windows Daisuke passed by as he jogged. Why was everyone gathering outside? Was there something in the building? Was there some sort of meeting Daisuke wasn't told of?

Daisuke stopped for a moment to pay due attention to his surroundings, looking around for anything out of place while keeping an ear out for movement. Nothing could be heard except the subtle humming of the ventilation systems. All that could be seen was an empty hallway with closed doors on the left side and a long, expansive window stretching down the hall on the right side. He continued onto his task with a cautious pace along the right side of the hall, adding a rhythmic clicking of his shoes against the tile floor to the light mechanical humming as he peered into the rooms he passed from the other side of the hall. It looks like the cardio would have to wait.

Daisuke turned a corner and reached the copying room lying just around the bend with no further interruptions. He cracked the door and peered through the slit before opening the door further and scoping out the room: nothing abnormal in sight. He locked the door when he entered as evidenced by a satisfying click of the knob's mechanisms when he pressed the button-style lock at the base of the knob. As he closed the door, however, a feminine voice was heard somewhere nearby. Once the door was closed and locked, he jiggled the handle-style knob to be met with hard resistance before stepping a few feet away from the door and listened to the noises outside. There was only silence coming from the other side of the door; the feminine voice was gone. Daisuke shoved his hand into his pocket, preparing to pull his knife if push came to shove. He turned around and rummaged through the room in pitch-black darkness with one hand, not wanting to alert whoever or whatever the voice came from. Light shone through the crevices of the door providing a faint cloud of clarity in the unlit room.

"These have to be the forms," Daisuke whispered as he held up a stack of papers in the darkness. The pages were still warm to the touch as if they had just been recently printed.

Daisuke tucked the pages under his arm and, with the arm buried in his pocket, gripped the folded pocketknife. He had to be careful to not drag it out too quickly, as having such tools on school grounds could lead to a hefty punishment if he pulled it on the wrong person. Since the doorknob was a handle-style knob, Daisuke could press his arm up against the button-style lock to unlock the door, drag the doorknob down with his elbow, and push the door out with his shoulder. He poked his head out of the room and peered left and right to see nothing. He left the room and closed the door with his foot, hand still in pocket and papers still held under his other arm as he made his way to the administrator's office.

"I could've sworn I heard a voice," Daisuke thought to himself. A constant, looming feeling of being watched permeated his mind, causing him to look back periodically to be sure he wasn't being followed down the empty hallway.

* * *

Daisuke made it to the administrator's office in little time at all. He pulled out his pocketed hand and used it to knock on the door, hoping for a fairly quick response.

The door glided open, a man standing behind it as it did so: the administrator, Zeoticus Gremory.

Zeoticus was a man who seemed to be in his mid forties, if not a little younger. He bore fairly long hair, for a man at least, that was tied into a ponytail and colored a notable red hue. His eyes, much like those of Rias's, were a vivid blue that exuded a gentle, yet regal feeling when glanced into. Upon his chin lied a close-to-the-skin red beard that stayed close to the point of his chin and never branched beyond his mouth, which held a gentle smile. He wore a white vest and pants combination, both bearing gold-colored trimmings, alongside a black undershirt with the collar folded outwards. Upon his feet lied formal, black dress shoes.

"Well, if it isn't Kasai Daisuke," Zeoticus spoke, casually sliding a hand into one of his pockets as the other rested on the door. "What can I do for you?"

"Greetings, Administrator," Daisuke said with a bow. "I was tasked with escorting these schedules to you by the Vice-President of the Student Council: Shinra Tsubaki."

"Thank you kindly," Zeoticus said, taking the forms from Daisuke.

"Is there any other task you need me to complete?" Daisuke asked.

"Well, I would like to talk to you for a moment," Zeoticus answered.

"Very well then," Daisuke said with a nod.

Zeoticus moved himself out of the doorway and allowed Daisuke to enter his office. The interior seemed rather typical for an office; a few chairs stood in front of a polished mahogany desk bearing a lamp and arranged office supplies, several hanging portraits of the Gremory family and of the campus itself, and a desktop computer. Behind the table was a swiveling chair and, behind that, a large window that overlooked the front side of the academy. The room smelled of paper and pine.

"Please, take a seat," Zeoticus said as he walked behind his desk.

Daisuke promptly took a seat in front of the desk, glancing off at various office objects on the desk.

"So, I heard my dear daughter, Rias told you all about the supernatural world beyond the knowledge of humanity," Zeoticus said.

"She gave me and my family cliff notes, more or less," Daisuke responded.

"Ah, yes. I would imagine it would be too much for an average human mind to have everything revealed in an instant," Zeoticus said, putting a hand to his chin as he spoke.

"Might I ask what is the meaning of the gathering going on out there?" Daisuke asked, pointing out through the window behind Zeoticus.

The red haired Devil turned to look on at the crowd of students standing outside. "It's just a little meeting for students to get to know their substitute instructors before class," Zeoticus said before turning himself back towards Daisuke.

"Why was I not informed of this?" Daisuke asked with a raised brow.

"Did you not hear the announcement over the intercom?" Zeoticus answered with another question.

"No, actually. I think the intercom technology outside might be damaged or disconnected," Daisuke answered.

"Well, that's another thing I'll have to tend to tonight," Zeoticus remarked begrudgingly as he took out a notepad and pen and began jotting down words. "Fix… outside… intercoms. I swear, it's always something with human architecture."

"Well, pardon us for not having the cushions of magic and what other crazy powers Devils tend to have," Daisuke remarked with a scoff and crossed arms.

"My boy, you are a brave soul speaking to a Duke of the Underworld so boldly. Not really surprising considering the performance you and your sister did yesterday. You make a fair point, though. I keep forgetting that not every human is in tune with the arcane or possesses a Sacred Gear," Zeoticus said, clicking his pen again and again.

"Sacred Gear?" Daisuke asked with yet another raised brow.

"Think of them like humanity's trump card against the supernatural. They're artifacts with varying abilities only those with human blood can be born with," Zeoticus answered.

"Interesting," Daisuke remarked.

"Goodness, I've lost track of what I was trying to speak to you about beforehand," Zeoticus lamented as he pat the palm of his hand against his head.

"My apologies for the distraction," Daisuke said with a seated bow.

"No, it's fine. You were bringing up valid information and questions anyway," Zeoticus replied.

"Maybe shooting the breeze might jog your memory; it does for me, at the least," Daisuke suggested.

"Well, I do suppose we have some time to converse," Zeoticus remarked.

As Zeoticus struggled to remember what he was initially planning on talking to Daisuke about, the two branched off with idle chatter in hopes that the thought would return to the Devil's head.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House,**** ** **10:30 AM****

After sitting in silence for what felt like forever to Issei, he heard footsteps approaching him in the dark building. He turned to see Ai walking towards him with vivid blue eyes shining, prominent smile bringing her joyful colors back to her face, and her unmistakable emotionally contagious aura.

"I dearly apologize for the abrupt breakdown. I hope I didn't worry you," Ai said as she sat back down beside Issei.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Issei asked, fiddling with a fancy pen he plucked from the gift pile.

"Hyoudou, you imbecile! How are you going to ask her about something that just sent her into a tearful breakdown?" Ddraid shouted in Issei's head, causing him to fumble with the pen and stick his thumb with the point of it.

"Agh!" Issei yelped as a brief, yet sharp pain coursed through his hand. He pulled his thumb from the pen's point. The drop of red forming on his thumb was evidence enough that it had broke skin.

"Goodness, dear. Let me take care of that," Ai said as she reached over to Issei's hand, gently pulled it towards her, and reached into her vest with her other hand.

Her hand felt so soft and gentle despite it being large enough to wrap around Issei's whole arm. It was the perfect mixture of forceful and passive, not being too harsh or too weak of a grip. A warmness in Issei's face gave birth to a blush.

Ai pulled a small square package. Upon first inspection, Issei's dirty mind immediately thought it was a rubber. His blush intensified and his mind wandered into raunchy territories.

Ai tore the package open with her teeth and removed a small white pad. As it turns out, it was actually an alcohol wipe, which Issei learned when Ai pressed it against his minor puncture wound and rubbed slightly.

A slight sting pierced his thumb. "Aah," Issei whimpered.

"I'm sorry dear, but it hurts less than having me tell you it's going to sting," Ai said before removing the wipe from Issei's finger, placing said wipe on the table, and reaching back into her vest.

"Don't ya think this is a little much for a little pen prick?" Issei asked.

"It's always good to play it safe when it comes to injuries. Your skin is a shield and, once that's ruptured, thousands of pathogens can enter your body. I'm not sure how Devil biology works, but I'd rather not see you get a painful infection in your thumb," Ai said, pulling a thin rectangular package from her vest: a packaged bandage. She unwrapped and applied it to Issei's thumb, being careful to not touch the white pad that would be pressed against his wound. "There you go dear."

"Thanks," Issei said, wiggling his thumb around a little with the bandage on it. "You'd make a damn good mother, ya know?"

"Do you really think so?" Ai asked.

"Yes, truly," Issei answered, smiling.

"Thank you, dear," Ai said, her usual smile now stretching further across her face.

A warmness in Issei's chest flared up at the sight of her smile. Issei scratched the back of his head. "So, you wanted to help me with that Yuuma business?"

"Yes, I do. I have had some experience tending to Daisuke's issue, so I think I could help somewhat," Ai answered.

"But weren't ya unable to change him?" Issei asked.

"Yes, but that was because he is my brother. I couldn't go all-in with his treatment without the both of us feeling more uncomfortable than when we first began," Ai said.

"By that, you mean..." Issei began, signaling for Ai to finish his thought. He had a feeling where this was going.

"We could try a little practice date tomorrow to get you back in gear," Ai suggested. She said it decisively and without shame as she turned to Issei with closed eyes and a large smile. "I know it will sound a little demanding and selfish, but I will need you to treat me the best you can. I will provide some pointers on areas you will need to improve at the end of the day."

Issei's cheeks began to burn and an intense blush formed on his face. His assumptions were correct. "Wha-wait a minute. You sure we need to do that?" he asked.

"Probably using the word 'date' was a mistake on my part," Ai said quietly, holding a hand up to her mouth. "Don't think of it like an actual date; think of it like a class of sorts with me as your instructor. If you start feeling uncomfortable at any time during the session, you can take a moment to work up your courage. I'll wait, patiently and unjudging, for you each time."

"You sure you'd do that for me? Even if I wuss out?" Issei asked.

Ai nodded. "Well, it's the least I can do for you and your friends helping Dai out."

A heavy weight was lifted from Issei's heart and his hesitation left him. "Alright. Where and when do we meet up?"

"I would suggest after we finish our classes so we won't have to worry about time constraints. As for the location, it is entirely your choice," Ai said.

"Alright, we'll meet at the park then," Issei said.

"Splendid. Just keep reminding yourself that this is a crash course and I'm sure you'll be able to stomach the thought a little easier when the time comes," Ai said with a singular clap of her hands. Her eyes shot open and she plucked her phone from the table. "Goodness. I forgot to call Ryuu to have him come pick up all these gifts," she said while punching in numbers for a third time at breakneck speed.

Ai called in Ryuusuke to come pick up Daisuke's gifts. After the call, the two went back to idle chatter as they awaited the hobo butler's arrival.

* * *

 ** **Kuoh Academy Student Council Headquarters,**** ** **10:50**** ** **A**** ** **M****

Minutes went by like seconds as Zeoticus and Daisuke spoke to each other. After a while, Zeoticus remembered exactly what he wished to speak with Daisuke about. The red-haired administrator manifested two gold plaques, one with Daisuke's name etched on it with the other holding Ai's name to congratulate their efforts in the storm yesterday.

After being given the plaques and a firm handshake, Daisuke was let off back into the halls. Uncertain of where his sister was at the time, Daisuke made his way towards the council headquarters with both plaques in hand to see if he was needed for anything else. Finally, he could now get his cardio in. He jogged off towards his destination, being careful not to drop or damage the plaques in any way as he traversed the halls. In contrast to his time in the halls before meeting up with Zeoticus Gremory, Daisuke felt no eyes watching him.

* * *

In little time and no interference, Daisuke arrived at the council headquarters. He poked his head into the main room and immediately noticed that the lights were off, leaving the room incredibly dim. In the room, sitting on a chair facing the doorway Daisuke was standing in, was a figure masked by the shadow of the room. Right in front of the figure was what seemed to be a table and, in front of the table, a couch.

"Greetings Daisuke," a familiar female voice left the figure's mouth.

Daisuke raised a hand up to the light switch and prepared to flip it.

"Please, don't turn on the lights," the female figure plead.

Daisuke slowly backed up. His hand lowered into the pocket containing his knife.

"Oh, I see what's happening," the female figure said. She adjusted what seemed to be glasses that reflected the light from the open doorway, the only light entering the room, and cleared her throat. "I am Sitri Sona. Alias: Shitori Souna. I am the President of the Student Council. My Peerage consists of all but one member of the council; that one member being you, of course. My favorite hobby is cooking, which I turn to you for guidance in for I hold reverence in your skills as a cook. Did I provide enough information?"

"My apologies, President," Daisuke said with a bow. He drew his hand from his pocket calmly and without any sign of apprehension.

"Please, come take a seat across from me," Sona said.

"Might I ask why do you wish for the lights to be out?" Daisuke asked as he approached the couch across from Sona. On the table between the two, a circular object could be seen on Sona's half of the table. The object smelled oddly reminiscent of blueberries and yogurt. Daisuke, although his eyes darted to the object and back to Sona several times, focused mainly on Sona and what she had to say.

Pressure built up in Sona's chest and her heartbeat rose significantly. Thanks to the natural night-vision of Devils, she was able to get a clear view of the whole room. Despite this, her eyes always wound up locking with Daisuke's brilliant, amber eyes. The human's princely appearance, which had no such effect on Sona before now, hastened her heart even more. "It's… Just don't worry about my reasoning," Sona said with hesitation. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Are you okay, President?" Daisuke asked.

Sona scooted the object on the table towards Daisuke, prompting his attention to turn to the delightful-smelling object, without uttering a single word.

It took Daisuke no time at all to identify the object despite the dimmed room's visually restrictive nature.

"Is that a Blueberry Skyr Cheesecake?" Daisuke asked with wide eyes and a surge of excitement in his voice.

Sona nodded. She looked on at Daisuke's amber eyes longingly, comfortable in knowing that he could not see her intense fixation on his eyes. She placed something stick-like in shape wrapped in a napkin beside the cake and returned her hand to her lap.

"For me?" Daisuke asked, hesitantly hovering his hand over the dessert.

Sona nodded once again. "All for you. I don't expect you to eat it all in one sitting, so please don't feel obligated to stuff yourself to the brim for my emotions' sake. I just want you to enjoy my own gift to you, seeing as how everyone else is giving you one."

"Thank you kindly, President. If there is any way for me to repay this kindness, please let me know," Daisuke said before unraveling the napkin-bound objects: a knife and a fork. He made quick use of the knife to cut out a slice of cake and immediately indulged himself. "Bloody cripes, you've improved so much since the last time you made one of these," he said with a heightened tone before swallowing his bite of cheesecake.

"Thank you Daisuke. I put quite a lot of effort into making this cake," Sona responded. Her voice progressively became more and more meek. Her heart pulsed with enough intensity for it be heard in her ears. Her mind began to wander as she watched Daisuke eat the cake.

"Oh, would the academy happen to be haunted or anything along those lines?" Daisuke asked nonchalantly.

That question snapped Sona back into reality. "No. Why do you ask?"

"I know, for a fact, I heard a lady's voice when I went down to the copying room. I don't recall seeing a source for it since the hall leading to the room was barren," Daisuke said, taking another bite of his cake.

"Oh, that was simply Nimura," Sona said. She threw her hand up to her mouth hurriedly as if she had said something she shouldn't have and froze up having made such an error.

Daisuke swallowed his bite of cake once again. "She was tasked with keeping a watchful eye over me, I presume?" he asked before taking in another bite of the cheesecake.

Sona let out a sigh. "No, she wasn't. She was doing something different altogether," she said with a defeated tone of voice. She knew she couldn't properly keep up a charade in her current state.

"Hmm?" Daisuke hummed as he chewed his cake.

* * *

"Daisuke…" Sona began. She remained silent for a prolonged time, leaving Daisuke's attention fixated on her. He didn't even chew his cake during this period of quiet. An intense burn culminated in Sona's face and heart, creating a bright red blush on her otherwise stoic face. Her eyes darted to the table and stayed focused on it. She held her hands close to her chest, feeling the mighty thumping of her own heart. It was for this reason she kept the lights off; she was afraid of Daisuke seeing her in such a vulnerable state. She mustered up her courage. "I want to spend tomorrow by your side."

Daisuke's eyes shot wide open and his body jolted slightly. Was Sona actually asking him out on a date? The bite of cake Daisuke had in his mouth slid down his throat improperly. The cake blocked up his airways, choking him.

Sona's heart sank upon hearing the strained coughing of her council mate. "Daisuke!" she exclaimed in an uncharacteristically worried voice, getting up and sparing no time in hovering herself over the table with sprouted wings to get to the amber-eyed student's side.

Daisuke held up his hand, signaling Sona to stop in her advance. His body, mostly his throat, undulated. A few moments of rhythmic undulation went by before a gasp escaped Daisuke; he had swallowed down the bit of cheesecake stuck in his throat.

"I'm sorry for dropping this on you so suddenly, I just needed to get this off my chest," Sona said, retracting her wings before taking a seat on the couch by Daisuke. "But I must know, are you willing to spend tomorrow with me? I'll understand if you say no; it isn't professional to have such relations with a superior." All those prior sensations intensified. With all of her heart, she hoped for a "Yes."

If it wasn't obvious before, it sure was now. Sona, despite being a Pure-Blooded Devil that far outclassed Daisuke's very existence, held affectionate feelings for the human.

"Well, I did say I would repay you for the cheesecake; I am a man of my word. That, and I can imagine how much you had to work yourself up to ask me," Daisuke answered. A blush appeared on his face as well and he awkwardly shifted in his seat. "I apologize if I end up disappointing you, though. It's been quite a while since I did this type of thing."

All those worries and doubts left Sona's mind. Her body calmed itself, albeit slightly. A wave of excitement ran through her body, keeping her heart pumping quickly with blood that felt like it was boiling in her face. "It's fine. I fully understand. I just… I just… I don't know." Her mind was all jumbled, unsure of how to guide herself adequately through the situation. She was, to be frank, surprised she even got this far. It was almost too good to be true. "You'd really do this for me even with the knowledge that I'm inhuman?"

"Yes, I would. I don't see what being a Devil would do to dissuade me after how kindly you and the others have treated me. This probably won't earn me a seat in Heaven, but I trust the Underworld isn't that bad of a place judging from how your friend described it." Daisuke answered.

Sona sighed a sigh of relief. A gentle smile formed on her face—not that Daisuke could see it anyway. "It's… funny how the roles have been reversed here," she remarked, nestling herself up against Daisuke for comfort. "I remember when you were too afraid to even look a girl in the eye. Now here I am playing the bashful role. I never would've thought that I'd wind up finding you so… endearing after that first impression I had of you."

Daisuke hung his head slightly, completely silent as if contemplating the situation. His gazed fixated on the ground in front of him.

"Is there a problem, Daisuke?" Sona asked with worried words as she turned her head to the human.

Daisuke snapped from his daze. "The whole situation is just a little overwhelming now that the adrenaline rush from me choking is dying down," he said before letting out a large sigh and sinking into his seat. "These past few days have been beyond hectic."

"These past few days haven't been a walk in the park for us either," Sona said. The heat from Daisuke's body made her heart soar. She wrapped his arm around her, indulging herself in the human's heat and scent.

"I would imagine. I dearly apologize for you having to leap over hurdles to keep me and my family safe," Daisuke said.

"Please stop with the superfluous apologies. You should only apologize if there is something you could've done but failed to do. There is nothing you can do about the situation at hand even if you wanted to, so you don't need to apologize," Sona said, running her hand through Daisuke's hair. It was silky to the touch and smelt as if it was freshly washed with a high quality apple-scented shampoo.

The two sat on the couch in the dark room for what felt like an hour. Sona stayed close to Daisuke's side, cuddling him like a stuffed animal but being gentle enough that she didn't snap him in two. Daisuke reciprocated her affection as best as he could by holding Sona tightly with the arm she had flung around her.

* * *

Daisuke looked up at a wall mounted clock faintly illuminated by the light from the doorway and jolted in his seat, briefly surprising Sona in her relaxed state.

"What's the matter?" Sona asked, turning her gaze in the direction Daisuke was looking. She immediately noticed the clock. "It's 11:10 AM. Is there something you need to do?"

"Actually, yes. I'm sorry," Daisuke answered with a woeful voice.

"Go ahead," Sona said.

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin this moment for you," Daisuke said.

"The fact that you said yes is more than anything I could've wished for from you. Go on ahead," Sona said with a soft voice.

"Thank you, President," Daisuke said as he got up from the couch, picked up the two plaques and the cheesecake Sona had made for him, and headed for the doorway.

Sona, all tangled in her thoughts, could've sworn Daisuke whispered something as he left. "I'm sorry," it sounded. Not putting too much thought into it, Sona chalked it up to him just feeling bad about interrupting such a precious moment for trivial nonsense. She sat alone in the dark room, the warmth of bliss pulsing through her as she sat in silence.

"All is forgiven, Daisuke," she thought.

* * *

"Yura here: Daisuke has left the room. How did it go?" the voice of Tsubasa spoke to Sona.

The voice snapped Sona out of her amorous daze. She recomposed herself before putting her hand up to her ear. "He said yes," she replied with a stern voice and her typical cynical mood.

"Hell yeah! President has got herself a date!" the voice of Ruruko shouted with immense energy.

Hearing those words made Sona's blood heat up again. "I must say though, you almost jeopardized this whole operation, Nimura," she said, not letting those inward emotions show through her voice.

"How so, President?" Ruruko asked.

"You were speaking too loud to the administrator when Daisuke was in the copying room. He heard you talking," Sona answered.

"How? I was all the way down the next hallway. How did he hear me from there?" Ruruko asked with a shocked tone of voice.

"Might I say you're being a little too harsh on Nimura?" the voice of Zeoticus asked. "I don't see why the correction is necessary; the operation went well."

"If she was speaking loud enough for a human to hear, doing so in an operation involving supernatural beings will result in catastrophe. I am fully aware that an average human's senses aren't as sharp as ours, Nimura, but you shouldn't be lenient even then; it could become a habit that can put us in a dangerous scenario," Sona explained before sighing. Her body felt as light as air. "All that aside, however, I must applaud you all for doing your parts well. I owe it to all of you for getting me to this point. Thank you. Regroup at the council headquarters for a celebration."

* * *

While Sona congratulated her Peerage and Zeoticus for a job well done, Daisuke stood at the other end of the hall for a brief moment. In one hand lied the Blueberry Skyr Cheesecake Sona had gifted him encased in a clear plastic tin with the two plaques balanced on top of it. With his free hand, he pulled a paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and closely analyzed it.

"11:30 AM. Go to the local shrine in Kuoh for a reward on behalf of the town for your heroism. Provided below will be a map to the shrine from the academy," the paper said. Below the text, both emphasized by the text itself and a very prompt arrow pointing towards it, was an overhead layout of the town with the shrine's location marked in red and the academy's location marked with a "You Are Here" note.

"You would expect a formal award from the town to be on a more ceremoniously decorated form instead of a shady note. Might as well humor the note anyway; it's not like I'm in too much peril with this warp ward witchcraft still applied to my person," Daisuke remarked quietly before prying his face away from the paper. He looked back towards the room he left Sona alone in. "This entire ordeal is going to become such a complicated mess later on. I just hope President doesn't disdain me too much for what I will do."

Daisuke slid the paper back into his pocket before taking the cake and plaques with both hands. He knew that, if he ran, the cake would be utterly ruined and the plaques would crash against the ground. With twenty minutes left on the clock, he sighed. "Bloody Hell."

* * *

 ** **Kuoh**** ** **Town Abandoned Shinto**** ** **Shrine, 11:25 AM****

As if by some miraculous turn of events, Daisuke was able to bring the cheesecake back home and make it to his destination with only five minutes to spare.

"Well, that was a risky venture," Daisuke said to himself as he walked up the fine concrete steps watched over by red, finely-crafted, overhanging wooden structures.

Once at the top of the steps, Daisuke discovered a singular, small building with traditional Japanese architecture: a Shinto Shrine. Consisting of mostly wood and accompanied by a multitude of papered screens and sliding doors, it looked like something straight out of the olden times. Its sweeping, tiled roof held a second, smaller floor upon which a second tiled roof was held. As Daisuke approached the building, he noticed that one of the sliding doors were left opened as if expecting a guest. He poked his head into the building and scoped out the room itself, seeing nothing except the overhanging lamplight illuminating a mainly white room with accents of reddish-brown wood supporting the roof above. A low, square table bordered by eight small, red cushions sat in the middle of it. The rest of the rooms were hidden behind closed screens partially illuminated by the sunlight, emphasizing their papered composition by giving them a minor transparency and a heavenly white glow. The room smelled of a unique, yet pleasant mixture of tatami and wood.

"A little shady. I would expect someone to be here to greet me," Daisuke muttered before kicking off his shoes by the door and fully entering the building. He pat his chest where the Sitri Clan sigil had appeared when Sona and Rias placed the warp ward spells upon the Kasai family. "Let's see how well you hold up then." He walked over to the low-laying table, kneeling down on one of the red cushions with both knees.

* * *

Akeno groaned with a heightened pitch from deeper within the shrine. "Where is he?" she asked with a sunken heart before standing back up. "I left the door open, and it's nearing 11:30. Did something happen?"

She headed back towards the main room where she left the door wide open. Her eyes were nowhere near as energetic as they usually were and her mouth quivered between a weak smile and a mild frown. She stood before the door leading into the main room and sighed to herself while rubbing her face in hopes of bringing at least a little energy back to it.

"Alright. If he isn't here, I might have to go searching for him. This can't wait any longer," she thought. Her heart thumped against her ears as her hand shakily made its way to the sliding door. She closed her eyes and, with a faintly lingering confidence, slowly and quietly slid the door open. She opened her eyes and saw something that soothed her worried heart. She saw Daisuke patiently kneeling at the table with his back turned to her. She approached him with light, silent steps and knelt down on the red cushion beside him.

* * *

Slight movement in the corner of Daisuke's field of vision urged his head to turn towards the source of the movement. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the attire the figure was wearing: the attire of a shrine maiden. His heart began to thump hard in his chest and his hands began to nervously fidget in his gloves. "Bloody Hell. Why this right after President confessed to me?" he thought.

His eyes traveled up the body of the figure beside him until he reached the head. His heart stopped briefly and he broke into a cold sweat. Kneeling next to him, in the clothes of a shrine maiden, was the one girl he feared more than any other: Akeno Himejima.

"Hi there, Daisuke. Before you freakou-" Akeno began with a quiver in her voice and her eyes turned to the table, unable to look Daisuke in the eyes.

But it was already too late. Daisuke quickly panicked and attempted to rush out of the building.

Akeno snatched a hold of his hand, preventing his escape. "Daisuke, please."

Upon contact with her very skin, Daisuke froze up and an unholy, guttural, croaking noise escaped him. It sounded like a chaotic symphony of frogs stopping and starting within his throat.

This, for a brief moment, startled Akeno. She loosened her grip enough for Daisuke to slide his hand out of his black glove. He ran off towards the exit, still gurgling on his fear. Akeno watched as he hastily left, a stagnant hand in the air gripping the human's glove as if pleading for him to stay.

Suddenly, a mysterious and strong wind pushed the frantic human back into the shrine and into Akeno's arms while leaving everything else untouched. It was as if some kind of deity refused to let him leave. Did Akeno pray for this as a contingency plan?

* * *

She held Daisuke tightly by his midsection, pinning his arms down. Knowing her own strength, she was careful to not break him in two. Being this close to him made Akeno's heart thump hard and fast. With her large breasts pressed firmly against his back, she rested her head on his shoulder and repeatedly whispered to him, in an almost motherly manner, to calm down. All the while, the human's natural musk combined with what smelled like apple blossoms enraptured her sense of smell, causing her to cling to Daisuke passionately as she whispered to him.

To her surprise, this actually worked. She could feel the tenseness in Daisuke's body gradually soften. His heartbeat, whose thumping resonated throughout his entire body, began to slow back down to regular levels. His breathing became less labored and frantic the more she spoke to him.

"Daisuke, how are you feeling now?" Akeno asked, not letting up with her firm grip, which might as well have been a hug. Despite her own frantic heartbeat and her blood boiling in her face, she actually felt a little more confident being this close to the human. She indulged herself a little more in Daisuke's scent.

"A little uncomfortable. Bloody Hell, you sounded uncannily like Ai for a moment," Daisuke answered with a shaky voice. His body may have been relaxed, but his mind was not so much.

"I have something important I want to say to you," Akeno said. Her confidence from before was short-lived as it wavered substantially and her train of thought became more and more muddled the closer she got to saying what she had to say.

"What?" Daisuke asked with audible concern in his voice while squirming slightly in the Devil's embrace.

"I… I…" Akeno stumbled. She gripped Daisuke tighter and closed her eyes. With a dying gasp of the confidence she felt before, she spoke. "I'm sorry for how harshly I've treated you. I'm sorry for how much I capitalized on your fear for my satisfaction. I felt vengeful for how you treated Issei when you two first met and thought I'd return the favor. Not only did I return it tenfold, but I punished you for protecting your dear sister. After hearing of how you really were from everyone else and seeing it for myself, I couldn't help but think of how wrong I was to terrify you as I did."

Daisuke turned his head to Akeno as she rested hers on his shoulder. The pupils of his eyes had constricted themselves to half of their original size. "C-could you let go of me? I won't run this time; j-just give me some space, please," Daisuke asked, choking on his words every so often.

Akeno's eyes opened to show a violet, meek glimmer. Her mouth, instead of holding the gentle smile of which she is often seen with, had contorted into a mild frown. Her glum gaze met with Daisuke's terrified ogling; she knew she could not afford to let him go. "How can I be sure?" she asked, not relinquishing her hold around the human's midsection. "How can I be sure you won't run from me knowing how afraid you are of me?"

The sight was alien to Daisuke. He had never seen her without some kind of smile: normal, mischievous, or sadistic. Even he could see, despite fear clouding most of his rationality, she was being genuine with her emotions.

Daisuke turned his head towards the exit. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, held it in for a minute, and let it go. "Fine, hold onto me if you must. But the moment you try anything provocative, I might wind up biting off a finger," he said with a calmer voice. There was still a noticeable shakiness in his tone, but it was substantially less apparent.

"Thank you," Akeno said with a soft voice.

"So… what now?" Daisuke asked.

"I want to make amends, to break this wall I've built between us," Akeno answered.

"I don't think I like where this is going," Daisuke thought.

"First of all, you've shown your true colors to us; now I want to show you mine," Akeno said.

Suddenly, the sound of a large object forcing the air from its path erupted from behind the two. It sounded much like that of an umbrella unfurling, but at a louder volume.

"What was that?" Daisuke asked. A singular, black feathered wing wrapped itself around and caressed him. Daisuke began to squirm yet again. "What the Hell?"

"Don't worry, it's my wing," Akeno said.

"But don't you Devils have bat wings?" Daisuke asked with a louder, somewhat panicked tone of voice.

"Yes, but I'm… a little different," Akeno answered. She wanted to confess she was a Fallen Angel, but the words refused to leave her throat.

"How different?" Daisuke asked, turning his head back towards Akeno. His words were quieter, but the fear was ever present in the form of a slightly heightened pitch.

"I'm… I'm a hybrid of sorts," she said, further beating around the bush. Her heart beat faster and faster.

"A hybrid of what?" Daisuke asked, his eyes opening wider.

Akeno hugged Daisuke even harder and buried her face into his shoulder. With a surge of energy, the words loosened themselves. "I'm part Fallen Angel! Daughter of the Fallen Angel Cadre, Baraqiel, and a Shinto priestess by the name of Shuri Himejima!"

Daisuke's eyes narrowed. "But aren't Fallen Angels and Devils the same thing? I mean, they're interchangeable in some texts."

"No, Fallen Angels such as I are impure creatures. Our once dove-like wings are now those of crows. Our once Holy status is now rendered moot. We are filthy sinners. I am a filthy sinner," Akeno said. She pulled her head from Daisuke's shoulder.

She recalled this same, if not similar, scenario with Issei; her showing Issei her wing and how he, despite her heritage, accepted her for who she was. "Now it's time to see how much like him you really are. Will you rebuke and scorn me? Or will you accept me?" she thought.

Daisuke took in a heavy sigh. "This might be because I have no idea how much weight being a Fallen Angel holds in the eyes of the supernatural, but I don't see why you hate being one," Daisuke said, taking advantage of his limited movement by gliding his hand across Akeno's black wing. Whatever light struck against the jet-black feathers glistened with a white light. "First of all, I feel black is a rather fitting color for you."

"Is it because it reminds you of death, fear, and other such horrid things?" Akeno asked. Her eyes narrowed and her face shirked away from Daisuke's amber gaze.

"Actually, black is a beautiful color of elegance and seduction to some—me included—which I see in you quite often," Daisuke said before his eyes darted off to the side. "When I'm not cowering behind a wall hoping you don't see me, that is. So there is some correlation to fear, but not enough for me to disdain it." His eyes fixed themselves back on Akeno. "If that were to be the case, I would've probably died my hair seeing how it is black itself."

Akeno's eyes returned to their regular fullness and a semblance of a smile formed on her face. Nonetheless, her face was still turned away from Daisuke.

"When you're not preying on my reactions, you are quite a pleasant person to be around according to what Ai has told me—and I hold great trust in what she says. As for the matter of crow wings, I actually find blackbirds to be quite beautiful and underappreciated. Despite the stereotypes surrou-" Daisuke went on before being stopped by a finger emerging from below his field of view. It pressed itself against his lips.

"I've heard enough," Akeno said. She turned her head back towards Daisuke, her frown curled into a smile. Her body felt light and energized now that the looming feeling of doubt had vanished. "You are so much like him; a little more verbose, but you're so similar to Issei."

A thought struck his mind. "Hey, uh… this isn't going to lead to a date, is it?" Daisuke asked.

"Why do you ask?" Akeno asked with a raised brow.

"Me and the Student Council President kind of already scheduled one tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I don't want to upset her after how dearly she approached me earlier," Daisuke said.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Harems are sort of a standard in the Underworld. Sona shouldn't have that much of a problem with it," Akeno said. She licked her lips in anticipation of meddling with another's relationship much like she did with Rias. To the human's dismay, it seemed Akeno's playful nature was returning all too quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still not sure if I should," Daisuke said, wiggling around in Akeno's arms hoping to at least get something free.

"Too bad, because I'm not letting you go until you promise," Akeno said with an almost musical tone of voice, her eyes flashing with a seductive gleam as she pressed Daisuke closer to her body. "I've come too far to let you back out now."

Daisuke sighed. There was little choice to be made here. "Fine, but only if you promise me something yourself."

"What would that be, Dai?" Akeno asked.

Daisuke's face gained a brief blush. "Please don't call me that."

"Nope. That's how I'm going to address you from now on. What about that promise, though?" Akeno responded.

"Yes, of course," Daisuke began, clearing his throat before continuing on. "Promise me you won't hate me if I don't turn out to be the man you think me to be," Daisuke said, staring the Fallen Angel hybrid straight in her violet eyes.

"What are you going on about?" Akeno asked with a raised brow.

"Just promise me, please," Daisuke plead.

"I want to know what you meant by 'not the man you think me to be.'" Akeno refutted.

Daisuke turned his head away and sat in silence.

"Are you afraid you won't be able to satisfy both me and Sona?" Akeno asked. She leaned closer to Daisuke's ear. "There are magicks and elixirs that can fix _that_ problem, you know?" she whispered.

"Just promise me or let me go; otherwise, I'll sit here and starve and it will be on you," Daisuke urged, further turning his head away from Akeno's gaze.

"Alright, alright. I promise I won't hate you. Just know you don't have to be so touchy about it; like I said, it's a simple fix in the world of the supernatural," Akeno conceded.

"Thank you, I'll hold you to that," Daisuke said before he sighed deeply and turned his face back to Akeno. "Are you sure President would be fine with this arrangement? The last thing I want to do is break her heart."

"I already said harems are perfectly acceptable in Devil society, but I'll let her get the first nibble if it'll make you feel better," Akeno said.

Daisuke's body shivered in Akeno's arms. "Could you **not** phrase it like that?" Daisuke asked.

"Don't worry, _we'_ _ll_ _eat you in_ _a_ _way_ _both sides_ _can_ _enjoy_ ," Akeno teased with a provocative rumble in her voice.

"You're doing it again!" Daisuke shouted, squirming frantically in Akeno's embrace.

"Well, I never said I'd stop cold-turkey; but I will tone down my teasing for you in particular," Akeno said with a jovial giggle.

"You better hold true to that; I won't give you another chance to even get within twenty meters of me otherwise," Daisuke said, ceasing his squirming.

"I will. Don't you worry about a thing, Dai," Akeno said.

Daisuke shivered once again. "I am never going to get used to you calling me that."

Akeno simply giggled. She was now as carefree as could be to both Daisuke's dismay and relief.

* * *

A thought flashed across Daisuke's mind that caused him to jolt in Akeno's arms once again. "What's the time?"

"Oh, let me see," Akeno said. She removed one arm from Daisuke and manifested a clock in her hands. "It's… oh my. It's 11:40. We should be going."

"You wouldn't happen to have a portal in here, would you?" Daisuke asked.

"Actually, yes. It leads straight to the club house. We should have some time if we hurry," Akeno answered. She got up from the red cushion she knelt at and magically transformed her shrine maiden attire back into her Kuoh Academy uniform. Her Fallen Angel wing retracted into her back and she walked towards a closed sliding door to the right of where the two were kneeling. "Come on."

Daisuke followed Akeno further into the shrine to discover a odd circle drawn on a piece of parchment sprawled across the ground. In the dead center of the circle was the Gremory Clan sigil, which Daisuke recognized as the symbols that appeared on Ren, Ai, and Miu.

Akeno stepped into the circle, motioning Daisuke to do the same.

From the drawn circle erupted a red, glowing circle.

Akeno reached out and grasped the human by his hand. She slid the black glove he slithered out of back onto his hand. She wanted so much to grab him by his shirt and close the gap between his mouth and hers, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it. A loving smile stretched across her face instead. "I can't wait to hear him squeal for me," Akeno thought.

"Well, now I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. How in the Hell does Issei cope with this?" Daisuke lamented in his mind.

With this, the two vanished.

* * *

 ** **Abandoned Building/Mercenary Hideout**** ** **, 12:00 PM****

Within the battered and destroyed building Xenovia and Yuuto had scouted prior to their battle, the mercenary group gathered in a wrecked living room. The furniture: unrecognizable and demolished. The wallpaper: far beyond unsalvageable. Parts of the ceiling above had caved in, leaving a hole into the upper room.

* * *

"Get a load of a' this. They be trynna peep on us with these lil glassy things," Swarmer said, grasping one of the several blue, eye-like monitoring wards that had been placed in their hideout with his golden gauntlets: Strike Stockpile. It seemed to shift in his hand like an eye in a socket as a white circle darted from left to right with a mystical hum. With minimal effort, he crushed it like a wine glass.

"Oh, they're watching?" Harvest asked as she flew up to another. The white circle focused on the woman. "Hey there. I can't wait to play with you guys next time," she said to the ward.

"Worry not, mine allies. I shall dispel this sorcery," Archmage spoke. He released a wave of pure magical energy, obliterating any foreign magic within the perimeter of the building while leaving all other things untouched.

"Sooooo… what now?" Huntress asked, her robe swaying back and forth as she sat on a hanging piece of debris. Beside her stood Ripper, standing still and silently like a statue, gazing off at a wall.

"We anticipate the conductor for conference," Archmage said.

"No need to wait; I am already here," a soft, regal sounding male voice spoke from within the building.

The mercenaries turned to face the direction of the voice. Huntress hopped down from her elevated position, Ripper following right behind her. Harvest floated down beside Archmage while he took a few steps forward.

"Ah, most well. I habban details of mine prescience," Archmage said.

"Speak then," the voice sounded. From the shadows approached a man roughly equal to Titan's height fully enveloped from the neck down by a black cape with a red underside and a braided rope running through two loops in front of where the cape would rest upon the shoulders. His face was a handsome one accompanied by a blank expression. Set in the man's skull were faded blue eyes and upon his head lied short, well-kept black hair. His very presence exuded an energy like none other, overshadowing even Archmage's.

"Mine visions foretell that tonight would bēon the most favorable opportunity for us to close the curtain. T'would bēon best to alert the rest," Archmage spoke.

"I put trust into your visions. Tonight, do what you must to ensure this wraps up swiftly," the man spoke.

"With certainty," Archmage responded with a bow.

"After this, what do we do?" Hybrid asked with a disinterested tone.

"We await the summit; that is what we do next according to his visions. When it comes, you will make your true nature known," the man spoke.

"Will there be conflict?" Lux asked.

"I hope there will be conflict," Umbra followed after.

"Yes, there shall. You will take the side of your masters and crush the opposition into less than dust. Though, we will need one alive; so do know some restraint," the man spoke.

"What about Ddraig? Should we be concerned about the Juggernaut Drive?" Typhoon asked, clutching her Storm Core tightly.

"Don't fear, fruendin. I'll take care of Der Drachen von Vormachtstellung—The Dragon of Supremacy—before they can even use it," Titan said, clutching his four-flanged, golden mace and raising it up to be level with his shoulder. "They may have seen the might of False Sharur; but they have seen nothing of False Kaumodaki."

"I trust you already have a clear vision of how the plan will go as well?" the man urged, staring at Archmage with his jaded blue eyes.

"With vivid detail," Archmage answered.

"Perfect," the man spoke.

* * *

 ** _ **Whew, this chapter took a while. Sorry about the two or so week long wait.**_**

 ** _ **We finally got some romance in the mix, but now trouble is rearing its head. How do you guys think this is going to end? Good? Bad? Will there be love or will there be loss? Tune in next time on Dragon Ball Z.**_**

 ** _ **Be sure to leave your opinions in the reviews. I'm looking forward to making the next chapter. It may take a little longer though, since college is starting up in about two or so weeks. What I'm planning to do is, after wrapping up Volume 2, take a little break (a little being, at most a month and a half) so I can get things in order and better refine my ideas for upcoming Volumes. I hope that isn't too much of an inconvenience; I apologize if so.**_**


	20. Volume 2:Life 8

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _This Has Got to Be a Dream._** ** _Time For a Date!_**

After class hours, everyone continued on with their day as they normally would. There was not a glimmer of danger or an instance of suspicious activity all day, allowing the Devils and their human friends a full day of peace. Nonetheless, everyone slept over at the Kasai residence just in case the mercenaries decided to strike that night. For Ai and Issei, tomorrow was to be a day of practice. For Daisuke, however, tomorrow was to be a romantic dilemma he was unwillingly backed into.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Girls' Changing Room, 11:00 AM**

After wrapping up what little work was left for the council over the weekend, Sona pulled Tsubaki, Tsubasa, and Reya into the changing rooms.

Once everyone was within the room, Sona locked the door behind them. The click of the lock wasn't enough of a security measurement to her, so she placed a magical ward on the door to further prevent anyone from getting in. She proceeded to do the same for any ventilation shaft within the room.

"President, is that really necessary?" Tsubasa asked with a raised brow. She stepped to the side, passing by an active air vent that blew her hair in her face. She shifted her short, blue hair out of her face with her other hand on her hip before stopping at a locker with its door ajar. She promptly closed it and propped herself up against the locker.

"It would be wise to seal off every entrance. I heard from Rias that Akahoshi is not above traversing ventilation systems," Sona answered while sealing off the final vent. Although they were bound magically, air was still able to blow into the room through the vents.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tsubasa remarked with a low, groaning voice.

"Akahoshi aside, what do you need of us, President?" Tsubaki asked with her hands down by her waist with the gentle breeze of the ventilation systems softly swaying her long black hair. The light of the room caused her glasses to glimmer radiantly.

"As some of you already know..." Sona began. With a snap of her fingers, her clothes disappeared in a white light: all but her glasses vanished, including her undergarments. "Me and Daisuke are spending the day together. I need your opinions on what to wear." Despite being the least voluptuous of the Devils present, she seemed to harbor an unwavering confidence in her appearance. Perhaps this isn't the first time she's been this bare around women with more curves than her.

"Ah, yes. I should've guessed you would want to look your best for him today," Reya said, standing by the door into the hallway as if keeping an ear out for anyone on the other side of the door.

"If that's the case, then may I please ask why you brought me here, President?" Tsubasa asked with a tilt of her head. "I apologize for speaking out, but you know I'm not about all that pretty stuff."

"I brought you and Kusaka here since you two seem to be the closest to him aside from Saji; and we know why I couldn't bring him here," Sona answered, materializing a variety of dresses and undergarments that floated in the air. The range varied from fancy, to skimpy, to conservative, and to kinky.

"I guess that is fair enough. I'll try my best to steer you in the right direction, President," Tsubasa said.

Tsubaki put her hand up to her chin and hummed in a droning, contemplative manner. "Well, judging by the way he carries himself, I think he would appreciate a fancier dress. I'm not sure what color he would like, though; I don't recall if he ever told any of us his favorite color," she suggested.

"Alright, one suggestion for a high-class dress," Sona noted with a quieted tone as she gazed at the selection. She turned her head back towards Tsubaki. "What of the undergarments?"

Tsubaki released another droning hum. "Now, that I am unsure of. I don't think he'd go that far in on the first date, so I wouldn't worry too much about that personally," she answered, grasping the frame of her glasses with her thumb and index finger.

"It would be wise to at least be prepared just in case," Sona said. She turned her head towards Tsubasa. "What kind of undergarments do you think I should wear, Yura?"

"Maybe he has a kinky side to him?" Tsubasa remarked with a shrug. "I mean, maybe he's all refined in public but a little freaky when it gets down to it."

"One suggestion for the deviant-style undergarments," Sona noted again with a quiet voice. "Kusaka, what about you?"

"Since he's kind of shy, I think having anything provocative would make him quite uncomfortable. Maybe you could wear a non-revealing dress and standard underwear?" Reya suggested with a finger to her chin.

"One suggestion for a conservative-on-conservative attire combination," Sona noted again.

"At what time do you have to be there anyway?" Tsuabasa asked.

"Roughly two hours from now," Sona answered.

"Good, so we have some time to decide," Tsubasa said, laying her head against the locker. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open and the corners of her mouth curled downwards.

"What is it Yura?" Sona asked. Despite being completely nude, she seemed to be at the ready to fight if the need arrived.

"Something else is here," Tsubasa said with a hushed voice.

* * *

The room was filled with silence. The four Devils paid close attention to their surroundings, being wary for even the slightest noise or sign of movement. A light rattle could be heard from the locker behind Tsubasa. Before anyone could react, though, something spoke.

"That would be me, Dear Tsubasa," a familiar, cold voice spoke from behind the girl.

Tsubasa leaped a bit away from the locker she had propped herself up against and turned to face it. "Ryuusuke? How in the Hell..." she began.

"Did I get in here?" the voice of Ryuusuke spoke from within the locker, finishing Tsuabasa's question. Suddenly, the locker door flew open with a loud thud. A shoeless foot stuck out of the metal box after having delivered a forceful kick. "I got bit by an odd spider and started to feel a little drowsy, so I went to find a little hole to nap in; but not before biting the arachnid back, of course. Safe to say, it's missing about sixty-seven percent of its body." As the voice spoke, the tall, pale man wiggled in an almost unnatural manner from the locker that seemed too small to fit his frame.

"Avert your eyes, Akahoshi. President is not decent," Tsubaki urged, blocking Sona's bare body from Ryuusuke's sight with her own body.

"I've already seen a pair of tits and a vagina; I'm certain she's not much different," Ryuusuke said, stretching out his body, groaning as he did so. He seemed entirely disinterested in the fact that Sona was nude.

"Ex-cuse you?" Tsubasa asked with a mouth curled into a mild frown and her hands perched sassily upon her hips. "You can't just go around saying things like that."

"Not the most comfortable box I've slept in, but far from the worst," he muttered, disregarding Tsubasa's statement.

"What are you even doing in here? This is the girls' changing room," Reya asked with slightly narrowed eyes and arched brows.

"Oh, this is a changing room? I apologize, the venom must've blurred my vision. I just saw lockers and thought I would just go ahead and crawl up in one," Ryuusuke said, looking around at his surroundings. His attention fixated on the dresses hovering by Sona.

Tsubaki tried to stretch her body out as much as she physically could the moment Ryuusuke's gaze turned to her direction. "Look away," she ordered with an agitated rumble in her voice.

"What's with the dresses?" Ryuusuke asked, completely disregarding Tsubaki's order.

"That's none of your business. You've already took your nap and the venom seems to have ran its course, so just get out; this is President's personal business," Tsubasa said. She walked over to Ryuusuke and began nudging him towards the door into the hallway. He didn't seem to show any resistance as she moved him out of the room

"Come on Kally, we have to go," a female voice whispered to the left of Sona's ear in disorienting manner. The room seemed to... glitch a bit as a result of these words for only the briefest of moments. She turned to look in the direction of the voice only for her gaze to meet with a thick, brick wall bearing not even a window for the voice to travel through.

"What the?" Sona asked with a hushed voice.

"Is there a problem, President?" Tsubaki asked, turning her attention to what Sona was staring at.

"Did you not hear that voice?" Sona asked.

"What voice?" Tsubaki asked with a raised brow.

"You mean to tell me you didn't hear a girl calling out to an individual named Kally?" Sona asked with a narrowed gaze.

"I'm sorry, President; I didn't hear anything," Tsuabaki responded with a weakened voice.

"What's this about a voice?" Ryuusuke asked just a few feet away from the door as Tsubasa urged him out. He immediately combated Tsubasa's attempts forcing him out of the room by planting his feet firmly against the wall and, with a strong surge of leg-based might, leaping off the wall. The sudden force threw off Tsubasa's balance, causing her to topple over all the while Ryuusuke somersaulted off the wall and over the floored Devil before perfectly landing on a bench. He rushed up to Tsubaki before she could even turn to face the pale man and before Tsubasa could even recover from her fall. "Where did you hear this voice?" he asked with a cold voice that seemed to scream murderous intent, his height making Tsubaki's attempt at blocking his gaze fruitless as he simply slouched over her head to look Sona in the eyes.

Sona covered herself with her arms. Her gaze turned stern and her eyes locked with the man's. "You truly have no personal boundaries, do you Akahoshi?"

"Not since I became homeless," Ryuusuke answered, his eyes not wavering in their gaze into Sona's eyes. Though he proven himself to be disinterested in her bare body, his presence still made Sona a fair bit uncomfortable.

"I guess I'll just have to reteach you why they exist," Tsubaki said before delivering a heavy punch to Ryuusuke's groin. A loud, metallic clang was heard from the impact; the blow landed, but Ryuusuke wasn't the one hurt.

Tsubaki let out a grunt of pain before clutching her hand with her other and toppling over.

"And that's why I wear a steel codpiece at all times," Ryuusuke remarked, looking down at the injured girl. His eyes shot back up to meet with Sona's again. "I'll ask again: the voice, where is it?"

Sona closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Just forget about it, I'm likely just suffering from sleep deprivation and am hearing voices because of it."

"Oh, very well then. I guess I'll leave then if there's no immediate danger," Ryuusuke said, straightening out his posture before craning his neck to look down at Tsubaki once again. "You may need to put some ice on that, punching curved steel like that can displace or shatter a carpal; then again, I'm not sure how tough Devil bodies are," he spoke, ending his thought with a shrug.

"I'll take care of her," Reya said, helping Tsubaki up and sitting her on a bench by Sona.

"You do that, Dear Reya. If her hand does turn out to be broken, call me back down if you can find me. I know how to force the bones back into place in an effective manner; although, it will probably hurt like Hell if I have to do it," Ryuusuke said before he turned and walked towards the door.

As the ghastly man made his exit, an idea popped into Sona's mind. "Akahoshi, wait. Maybe I could use your help in this ordeal."

Ryuusuke sharply exhaled through his nose. He turned back around and perched himself like a bird one bench away from Tsubaki and Reya. "What do you need, Dear Sona?"

"Since you know Daisuke more than anyone else here, what combination do you think he would like best?" Sona asked while still covering her female gifts with her arms, pointing towards the dresses with one tilt of her head and towards the undergarments with another tilt.

"Well, Sir Daisuke is particularly fond of the color black; so I would suggest narrowing your selection down to anything black," Ryuusuke answered.

"Alright," Sona said, dissipating any dresses or undergarments that were not black and replacing them with those that were. "Anything else?"

"Sir Daisuke is obsessed with looking sleek and formal; it is his definition of beauty anyway. I would suggest wearing a dress with such properties: like that one," Ryuusuke said, pointing at a black, knee-length dress that seemed like it would snugly hug Sona's figure and emphasize her curves.

"Lastly, what kind of undergarments would he like?" Sona asked, dissipating every other dress besides the one Ryuusuke pointed out.

"That would depend on your goal. What do you want for him to feel?" Ryuusuke asked.

"Good question," Sona stated with a hushed voice. She looked down at the ground in contemplation.

"Take your time, I literally have all day. In the meantime, I'll tend to Dear Tsubaki's injury with Dear Reya," Ryuusuke remarked, crawling along the benches like a human spider towards Tsubaki.

This left Sona to wander in thought. She hummed inquisitively, staring at the floor before turning her head towards the array of undergarments she had available.

"I'll be there in a second, elder brother," a feminine voice different from the one before said in a quiet, yet somehow louder tone than the previous voice. Once again, the world wobbled in resonance with the almost ethereal words. The voice bore hesitant words and a tremble. Something about it sounded familiar to Sona, but she could not quite tell why it felt that way to her.

Sona turned her attention towards the source of the voice only to once again face the windowless brick wall from before. "This is getting minorly unsettling," Sona thought.

"What's getting minorly unsettling?" Ryuusuke asked, jolting Sona out of her trance.

The bespectacled council president's eyes widened and her mouth was left slightly agape. "How did you hear what I was thinking?"

"Thinking?" Ryuusuke asked with an inquisitive tilt of his head. "Dear Sona, you were speaking out loud."

"Was I really?" Sona asked, turning her eyes towards Tsubaki and Reya.

"You were, President," Tsubasa answered from across several benches on behalf of her two comrades. "I could hear it all the way over here, and I saw your mouth moving as well."

"Well then, I'll have to keep my thoughts on a tighter lock," Sona remarked. Nonetheless, she could've sworn she was keeping her thoughts in her mind.

"What I would like to know is what is it you find unsettling? If it is me, I'll get back into the locker so you don't have to look at me, Dear Sona," Ryuusuke offered, hand hovering over the edge of the bench he was perched on as if preparing to get up and do as he had said.

"Please do, I don't think President appreciates your presence at the time," Tsubaki said, this time without an aggressive rumble in her voice. Her hand was no longer in the grip of the other, instead pointing towards the locker Ryuusuke had previously napped in.

"So, I guess Devil physiology is as strong as I had thought. Good to see you can still use that hand, Dear Tsubaki," Ryuusuke said. He turned himself towards the open locker, whose door was significantly bent out of shape after having been kicked by the pale man.

"No, it's fine if you sit there. I need you to actually see what I plan on wearing to get a criticism from you anyway. That, and I can just simply wipe away any memory you have of how my body looks if I so wish," Sona said, stopping Ryuusuke in his tracks with her words.

Ryuusuke, who already had a foot in the locker, turned back around to face Sona. He, once again, perched himself on a bench. "You still haven't told me your goal for your date."

"Oh… yes… of course…" Sona dragged on.

Ryuusuke merely stared her in the eyes as she attempted to come up with a goal. "This is your first date ever, isn't it?" he asked.

Sona's eyes narrowed greatly. "My first ever date with someone I hold a genuine interest in, yes. Down in the Underworld, marriages are often set up by the heads of the clan. I was set up to marry another Pure-Blooded Devil—whose name shall not touch my tongue ever again. I want to make a date between me and someone I actually adore, such as Daisuke, as pleasant as I can," she lectured with a sharp tone of irritation in her voice.

"A simple yes or no would've been enough," Ryuusuke said unflinchingly and uncaringly.

"I apologize, I abhor that man; just thinking about him irks me to no end," Sona said, pinching the bridge of her nose with tightly closed eyes. One of her breasts slipped out from behind cover, but Ryuusuke didn't seem to care in the slightest as shown by his eyes following not the drooping of her chest, but a bothersome fly buzzing around him.

"Do you wish for me to off him?" Ryuusuke asked, catching the fly in between his fingers, crushing it with enough force to kill it without caking his fingers in its viscera, and flicking it away.

"I don't think you're strong enough to take on a Devil alone, buddy," Tsubasa said.

Ryuusuke bunny-hopped into a half spin, turning his entire body towards Tsubasa once his feet returned to the bench. "Who said I would fight him man-to-Hell creature? If I can sneak up on you all so consistently without even meaning to, I don't think he could even detect me breathing down his neck if I actually put effort into being stealthy. Perfect opportunity to plunge a knife into his throat," he rebutted with a cold voice. He hopped once again to turn himself back towards Sona. "The offer still remains; do you wish for me to terminate him?"

"Just forget about him. I'm above getting revenge on that insignificant barbarian," Sona answered.

"Very well then. With that out of the way, back to the task at hand," Ryuusuke said, scratching the side of his face. "You said you wanted it to be as pleasant as you could make it? Do you wish that for you or for Sir Daisuke?"

"Both to be honest, but making it pleasant for him is my baseline," Sona answered.

"Well, what do you want to wear?" Ryuusuke asked.

"I wish to wear something modest like these," Sona said, pointing towards standard black bra and panties.

"Sir Daisuke should be fine with that, but I don't know why you'd be so concerned about what undergarments to wear for a first date. Are you planning to have sexual relations with Sir Daisuke so early?" Ryuusuke spoke with the bluntness of a stone.

"Obviously you slumbered through my answer for that. I just wish to be prepared in case the date does go in that direction," Sona answered with a slightly flustered blush on her face.

"I think you're delving too deep for this, but whatever," Ryuusuke said with a shrug. He stood up on the bench before stepping down from it. "Since my work here is done, I'm leaving. I wish you luck with Sir Daisuke; _just don't hurt him or I'll have to hurt you in his defense,_ " he warned before turning towards the door and making his leave.

"What makes you think President is going to do anything to upset the person she loves?" Tsubaki asked with a slight rumble in her voice, still a little apprehensive about Ryuusuke's intrusive behavior.

"Teenage love rarely lasts. Often, it ends with heartbreak," Ryuusuke answered, twisting the doorknob and yanking the door only to be stopped by a blue sigil.

"Allow me to handle that," Sona said, shattering the seal on the door like glass with just a flick of her hand.

"Thank you, Dear Sona," Ryuusuke said before finally leaving the room.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Schoolyard, 12:50 PM**

Sona stood at the front gate of the academy donning her modest black dress that firmly hugged her body. She looked down at her waist, which was emphasized along with the rest of her body by the dress's snug fit. A tingling in her face took hold. "You best be right about this Akahoshi," she thought to herself. Sona turned to look at the clock built into the academy building.

"12:51," it read.

"Please do hurry, Daisuke. I don't wish to be seen like this by any other before you," Sona said to herself in an almost silent voice as she anxiously turned her head to the ground. Her hands were clasped together down by her waist and her body swayed back and forth.

"Hello there, President," a familiar voice said.

Sona's anxiety was immediately replaced by a flood of warmth the moment that voice rung in her ears. She turned towards the voice to see Daisuke standing before her in a black, coattailed vest wrapped over a white, collared shirt. He, too, dressed up for this occasion, much to Sona's delight. Her eyes briefly wandered down to see the rest of what Daisuke was wearing to find a pair of black dress pants and black dress shoes.

"I apologize if I'm a slight bit late," Daisuke said, walking up to Sona's side.

"You're actually a little less than ten minutes early," Sona said, pointing at the clock built into the academy building.

Daisuke's head turned towards where Sona was looking. "Ah, I see." His head turned back towards Sona. "You look bloody breathtaking, by the way," he said with a suave voice and a warm smile.

A blush formed on Sona's face. Her gaze shirked away from Daisuke for a brief moment and her mouth curved into a light smile. "Thank you. Should… Should we be going?"

"Ah, yes. I felt that we could go out to the park to start off. Does that sound fine with you?" Daisuke asked, wrapping an arm around Sona and holding her close to him.

Sona turned her head to face Daisuke's. His otherwise intense amber eyes now gave off a gentle feel as if he was truly at ease by her side. Sona snuggled up closer to Daisuke. "Sure, we'll start there for now. Afterwards, we could get ourselves some dinner."

"At a restaurant? Or would you rather me cook?" Daisuke asked.

"I trust you could make something satisfactory," Sona answered.

"I do suppose it would be more meaningful for me to make our food," Daisuke remarked with a brief chuckle.

The two walked off, leaving the academy grounds as they made their way towards the park.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 12:30 PM**

Most of the ORC had already headed back to the Kasai residence seeing as they had nothing to do club-wise or academically, leaving only Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, Ai Kasai, and Issei Hyoudou within the club house. Ai and Issei sat on the main room couch while Rias and Akeno stood and spoke to each other on the other side of the room.

"I heard the news, Akeno. I see you and Daisuke are meeting on good terms today. I just want to say congratulations on making a comeback with him, I was beginning to think he would never let you get the chance," Rias said with sincere words and a smug grin that seemed to detract from the sincerity of those words.

"Yes, yes. So long as I'm with him, I'll be out of your way to Issei. I get the gist," Akeno submitted with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm sorry, did I come off as snarky?" Rias asked, her smug grin vanishing. "I genuinely mean it, though. He's a good man."

"Just know that if this relationship doesn't go anywhere, I will be back to meddle with you and Issei; only this time I won't be so quick to chase another man," Akeno said with a wink towards her King.

"I don't think you'll be coming back for Ise so long as you're dating Daisuke; it's like he and you were made for each other," Rias said with a giggle.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'll tell you like I told Daisuke; he is so much like Issei: kind, forgiving, loyal, and not that bad on the eyes. If Sona does take his heart before I do, you can bet on your status as a Gremory that I'm coming back," Akeno responded. She winked once again. "Who knows, he might lull you in like he did me."

Rias let out a hearty laugh. "Let's not get crazy now. Until he saves me from a terrible marriage, I don't think I'll be on him anytime soon."

"Who knows? He might do just that one day. Sona is considering making him a Knight when he kicks the bucket, so he may do something amazing as a Reincarnated Devil that wins your heart," Akeno said before opening her closed eye and honing her attention on Ai and Issei sitting on the couch together. "If I were you, though, I might want to be a little concerned about Ai swooping in and taking Issei from you."

"As if," Rias scoffed. "She's a cute girl, but she's out of her league here."

"My oh my, that's quite a rude thing to say about such a nice girl," Akeno said, making her own smug grin as she cut a side-eyed glare at Rias.

Rias's eyes shot wide open. "I didn't mean it that way. She would be competing against Devils for another Devil's heart. I just don't see how she would be able to last long."

"Are you sure about that? If I recall correctly, Issei was once human and was genuinely happy being one. He might find Ai to be more attractive due to that single similarity. Heck, they're even going on a little date judging from what I've overheard," Akeno refuted, winking for a final time with a smile now stretching from ear to ear.

"No… you're lying," Rias said with an airy voice. Her eyes darted to Issei.

Issei held his head low, his body tightly packed together. Neither Rias nor Akeno had never seen Issei this reclusive; it was as if he was getting nervous just from sitting next to Ai.

Ai had her hand placed gently on Issei's shoulder. She was leaning forward as if trying to get a look at Issei's lowered face. After muttering some words to him, Ai removed her hand from Issei's shoulder and gently raised his head towards her smiling face. Issei gave her a smile back.

Rias's jaw dropped and she slouched over significantly. Her blue eyes seemed to narrow at the sight.

Akeno couldn't help but giggle at Rias's bewilderment and obvious envy. "Have fun, President," she said before heading out of the building accompanied by a farewell wave to Rias.

* * *

Now out of the building, Akeno changed into her shrine maiden attire with the aid of magic. She giggled to herself. " _Here I come Dai._ "

"Come on Kally, we have to go," a female voice whispered from somewhere around Akeno. The words sounded... wavy. Not only that, but the very sound caused a brief spell of weightlessness to force itself upon Akeno as the world around her seemed to contort for an even briefer instance.

She looked around to see nothing but trees, grass, and the path back to Kuoh Academy. Something about that voice made Akeno's eyes widen and her pupils shrink to half their size. "That sounded like that Werewolf mercenary," she said hushedly. Her hand hovered over to the doorknob back into the club house as she carefully observed her surroundings. With her other hand, she formed a magic circle in front of it. Akeno waved her hand around, pointing it in several directions and listening for any noise that would come from any direction. Not even a bird was chirping; all was an ominously still silence save for the heartbeat thumping in Akeno's ears.

Nothing happened nor did anything move without the aid of light winds. No matter how long Akeno stood in place, no matter how sharply she focused on her surroundings, there was nothing. It was as if it was only a voice in her head, but she was reluctant to consider that an explanation.

Akeno, not wanting to leave Daisuke waiting alone with the possibility of the mercenary group running about, placed a barrier around the club house and rushed off back towards the academy with the magic circle hovering just past her palm at the ready in case she needed to defend herself.

"I'll be there in a second, elder brother," another feminine voice spoke as Akeno ran. Once again the forest seemed to fall apart and Akeno felt an odd pulling sensation on her body for only the briefest of moments. The reluctant voice sounded eerily familiar.

Akeno stopped in her tracks with her eyes widened greatly. "Was that Ai?" she asked herself as she turned to look back towards the club house. She shook her head. "No, it must be one of those Doppelgängers trying to deceive me," she spoke quietly before continuing on with her run towards the academy.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Schoolyard, 12:45 PM**

After traveling to the academy from the club house in nothing short of a frantic hurry, Akeno leaned herself against a stout tree in the middle of the schoolyard within clear view of the academy gates to catch her breath. Her eyes darted about, her hastened heart hastening even more upon discovering Sona alone at the gates in a black dress; Daisuke was nowhere to be seen and the schoolyard was devoid of human life. Akeno feared the worst as she hurried over to the council president.

"Sona! Sona!" Akeno repeated with terror in her voice, prompting Sona to turn towards her.

Sona's eyes opened wider than usual upon discovering Akeno not only in her shrine maiden attire, but also with an uncharacteristically frightened look in her eyes. "Himejima, what is the problem?"

"Have you seen Daisuke anywhere?" Akeno asked, grasping Sona by her arms and staring her straight in her violet eyes. Her body tensed up more and more for every second her question went unanswered.

"No, I have not seen him. I'm merely waiting for him to arrive at this location; he should've been here five minutes ago. Did something happen with the Occult Research Club?" Sona answered, squirming slightly in response to Akeno's grip that was just a slight bit too firm.

"I heard that Werewolf from the mercenary group in the woods. Then I heard Ai's voice come from the woods as well when I know for certain she was in the club house with Rias and Issei; I think one of those Doppelgängers were trying to lure me into the woods for an ambush," Akeno answered, releasing her grip on Sona, who dusted off her dress once freed.

Sona's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows slanted at a downwards angle. "You can't be serious… in broad daylight as well? And you just left Rias and Hyoudou to defend the sister by themselves?"

"No, I sealed off the club house. If they get attacked, they'll have time to escape through the club house transportation circle before the mercenaries break through the barrier. We need to find the others," Akeno answered, turning towards the academy and starting up a sprint only to bump into a person. The two both fell to the ground, Akeno toppling over on top of the person.

"I guess you've found one already," Sona remarked, her voice sounding a little more energetic and positive in spite of the situation. "You're late, Daisuke,"

"Daisuke?" Akeno thought. She pulled herself from the person's body and looked towards where the face would be, hoping to see those unmistakable amber eyes.

Her eyes locked with the person's eyes below her and found a bright, intense yellowish-orange gaze; she found herself atop of Daisuke for a second time, breasts hanging just above his face. She wrapped her arms tightly around his head and pressed it against her chest, almost immediately sending Daisuke into a fit of panicked flailing.

"Goodness, you're safe. I was getting so worried," Akeno said, holding onto Daisuke tightly despite his frenzied attempts at escape.

"But what of the young twins? Have you seen them anywhere or at least know of their general whereabouts?" Sona asked, her stern glare persisting and her voice returning to its previously dead serious tone.

"All that I know is that they attend the elementary wing of the academy. I don't know my way around that section of the academy too well though," Akeno responded, loosening her grip around Daisuke's head to give him some space to pull away. "Dai, can you-" she began before her ears were assaulted by the same guttural croaking from yesterday. She promptly pressed Daisuke's head back into her chest, not to egg him on further surprisingly, but to drown out the grating noise the human was producing. The reverberations from his voice vibrated and tickled Akeno's chest.

"Let me handle this, Himejima," Sona urged, pulling Akeno off of Daisuke and once again releasing that horrid croaking noise that forced Akeno to cover her ears. "Daisuke, I need you to calm yourself," she said, pulling Daisuke up to her face and pressing her forehead against his. Her eyes locked with the human's while her hand glided over to and anchored itself on Daisuke's cheek.

As if by some miracle, the guttural croaking noise that prevailed even through Akeno's hands died down in little time with the aid of some gentle whispering from Sona. Akeno, having her ears covered, was unable to discern what was being said and was only able to tell when Daisuke was quieting down.

"You can uncover your ears now, Himejima," Sona's muffled voice reached through Akeno's hands.

Akeno's hands fell to her sides. "I'm sorry about that Dai, I'm just glad you're safe," she said, slowly approaching the human.

Sona turned to look towards Akeno, whose face was not of her usual provocative nature and was instead tainted with a wavering grin and shuttered eyes. "What's with this sudden affectionate attitude?" she asked. She shook her head as if dismissing her current thought before turning it back towards Daisuke. "Nevermind. We'll discuss the matter another time. Daisuke, can you lead us to your younger siblings? We need to get a head count on everyone."

"Certainly. I won't waste time questioning you as to why; I trust it is dire," Daisuke said, pulling himself up from the ground and turning back towards the academy building. "I've had to escort Ren and Ran a fair few times to their classes when in the rare occasions Ryuusuke is tending to other matters, so I know exactly where their classes are located," he said before motioning the two Devils to follow him into the academy building.

* * *

 **Kuoh Academy Park, 1:20 PM**

Sitting beside each other on a bench bordering Kuoh Park's lake were Issei and Ai. Gazing off silently into the shimmering water under a sun that had just begun its time of waning, the two bide their time as they waited for the other to speak. Eventually, Issei took a deep breath and turned his head towards Ai.

"So… how are we gonna start this?" Issei asked, uncomfortably squirming in his seat.

"Honestly, I was hoping you would have a plan set for this. I never ask for much, so I don't ever really know what I want when the time comes," Ai answered, her vivid blue eyes shining like the water before the two and her prominent smile brimming with an unwavering confidence.

Issei hung his head low. A choking sensation gripped him. "I'm sorry about that," he said after working himself up to loosen that suffocating feeling just enough for him to speak.

"You don't need to apologize. If anything, I probably should've came with a plan myself since I was the one who proposed the idea," Ai said, turning towards the Devil beside her and grazing a finger across Issei's cheek to move a tuft of his hair out of his face.

"What would you like to do?" Issei asked, banking on her to be the one directing the practice date.

"I'm in a bit of a gambling mood; maybe we can start with something along those lines?" Ai suggested. She leaned in a little closer to Issei's face. "I might be able to win us some money for an expensive dinner, if that works for you," she whispered.

"Are ya sure? I don't wanna work you out on a day ya should be relaxin'," Issei answered.

"I feel that a date should require some effort from both sides. The fact that you're being considerate about my condition is a good sign; keep that up and dating should be much easier," Ai said.

"Alright, noted," Issei said with a weak nod.

Ai got up from the bench, her height drawing the eyes of many passersby. She turned towards Issei and bent herself forwards, putting a hand on her knee while her other hand wandered to one of Issei's knees. "Come on, I know just the place to get that money. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something from watching me."

Issei looked up towards Ai, her smile blotting out his worry with a pleasant warmth. He got up, now smiling back at the gentle giant of a woman.

The two then headed out of the park, Issei following right behind Ai.

"Come on Kally, we have to go," a feminine voice spoke from the left of Issei. The words stole all feeling from him for a brief moment as the world around him seemed to ripple in the most slight of manners. Once the words had faded, everything returned to normal. Issei turned his head towards the voice, finding no possible source for it. He turned his head back to face Ai before a realization struck him, jolting his entire body back towards the voice and hunching over as if preparing for a fight.

"Issei, what's the problem?" Ai asked, the aggressive grating of his shoes against the stone path causing her to turn towards him.

"Get behind me," Issei said with a deathly stern glare trained in the direction of the voice.

"Okay..." Ai said with uncertainty as she walked over behind Issei. "Might I ask what's going on?"

"I coulda sworn I heard one of those damn mercenaries..." Issei muttered, training his gaze on a tree within his direct line of sight. "She must be hidin' there, but how am I gonna fight her off with all these people nearby?" he thought, using his hands to signal Ai to move slowly along with him.

Ai continued down the path, staying by Issei as he continued to intensely stare down the tree.

Eyes all fixated on the Devil, many were looks of confusion and some were of mean-spirited ridicule. None of them seemed to concern Issei; his only worry was keeping the girl at his side as safe as he could.

The two continued on down the path until Issei's perspective shifted enough to get a view of what was behind the tree. The grass at the base of the tree stood strong as if it hadn't been disturbed in days. Issei's eyes shifted up towards the branches of the tree, expecting to see someone perched within the leafy mass staring them down.

Once again, nothing. There wasn't enough motion to signal a shift in the positioning of a person, the only motion present being the after-effect of the light winds striking the leaves. He straightened his posture out and returned to walking beside Ai. His head, however, was still turned towards the tree in case of any last second movements.

"Let's get going," Issei whispered to Ai, hurrying her onward.

"I'll be there in a second, elder brother," Ai's voice rang from right beside him. A sense of sensationlessness struck him again as the ripple in the world around him wobbled a little more notably before receding.

"Who are ya talkin' to? And what's this about an older brother?" Issei asked. What mainly piqued his interest was the inclusion of an older sibling. Wasn't she supposed to be the first child of the Kasais?

"What do you mean? I'm sorry, but I didn't say anything," Ai answered, tilting her head to the side. Her round eyes seemed genuinely confused.

There were too many red flags for Issei's liking. "We gotta get outta here," he said, rushing forward and taking Ai by her hand. Her hand, however, felt as if it had faded to grainy dust. He turned back, eyes opened wider than they ever had been and expected the worst.

Once he turned, Ai was nowhere to be seen.

"Ai! No!" he shouted, tears already beginning to well up in his eyes.

* * *

 **" **No tears now, rejoice instead; I have found you,**** ** **Issei Hyoudou,**** ** **"**** a thundering voice rang from the now glowing mouths of the park-goers, whose eyes had transformed into nightmarish orbs of intense light.

The ground around Issei began to crack and crumble away into a transparent, crystalline pedestal. The sky changed colors at a rapid rate before shattering and falling away like glass, revealing an infinitely dark void. All life within sight molded into mounds of mush before dissolving away completely, leaving Issei alone with the darkness. Suddenly, a light culminated before him. The blinding light was easily bright enough to light the dense darkness surrounding Issei by itself before reducing itself to a level tolerable to his eyes, which were paralyzed along with his entire face to form a haunted visage.

 **" **Your true purpose shall soon be realized. I have sent my Apostle to retrieve you. Rejoice, for your existence holds a destiny grander than**** ** **even**** ** **those**** ** **frail beings**** ** **you**** ** **reverently**** ** **praise as**** ** **Gods,"**** the voice spoke, every word pushing Issei back with immense power.

Issei couldn't even utter a response, he choked on his words as he watched in awe and terror of the light before him. Never before was he so dumbstruck as he is now.

 **" **All you must do now is awaken, Issei Hyoudou! Awaken! Awaken!**** ** **Awaken!**** ** **"**** the voice repeated without end, overwhelming Issei's senses and forcing him to buckle over from the force of the words. Two hands reached from the darkness and pressed upon his shoulders, hoping to entangle him in the shadowy sea. The hands, however, felt soft and familiar.

"Awaken! Wake up! Ise! Wake up!" Rias's terrified voice spoke in conflict with the light in front of him.

* * *

Eventually, Issei jolted through and awoke in a bed with Rias hovering over him and Asia sat to his right. The rest of the ORC were nowhere to be seen; it seemed even the Student Council was absent. Issei looked around frantically, taking note of the moon shining through the window and various toppled lion statuettes as the memory of the dream faded from his mind. A grim thought donned upon him before Rias pulled his face to hers.

"The Kasais are missing!" Rias exclaimed, her eyes wide and her hands trembling as she held Issei's face.

* * *

 ** _ **I'm probably going to get flak for the "It was all a dream" cliché, but I hope I pulled it off somewhat well.**_** ** _ **I tried to put it in one character's perspective solely for each part to help hint at this turn of events, so I can safely**_** ** _ **(maybe)**_** ** _ **say that it isn't what one would call an asspull.**_**

 ** _ **Hey there everyone. I apologize for the long wait for such a**_** ** _ **comp**_** ** _ **a**_** ** _ **ratively**_** ** _ **short chapter**_** ** _ **when the last four were 10,000+ words long**_** ** _ **. Alongside adjusting to college life, I lost the file for the chapter. While I did have a backup in the form of a flash drive, my incapable nature led to me losing it. So I had to restart only to find the backup along the way. As such, this chapter may be shoddy even when compared to my current chapters.**_**

 ** _ **More bad news, I**_** ** _ **m**_** ** _ **ight**_** ** _ **be losing my internet soon until the 19**_** ** _ **th**_** ** _ **of September**_** ** _ **(hopefully**_** ** _ **at the latest**_** ** _ **)**_** ** _ **. I dearly apologize for this span of incompetency and**_** ** _ **I**_** ** _ **hope you understand the complications.**_** ** _ **I know having to deal with an author who is prone to going on month-long spells of inactivity can be frustrating, but I trust you can find something better to read in the meantime.**_**


	21. Volume 2:Life 9

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _Abduction and a Decisive Battle_**

After a jarring awakening from an equally jarring dream, Issei is hurried out of bed by Rias and Asia before being able to so much as ask about what was going on. The three prepare to take to the skies in search of their dear human friends.

* * *

 **Kasai Residence, 2:30 AM**

"Hurry up! I don't know how much time we have left!" Rias shouted to Issei, taking him and Asia by their arms and rushing towards an open window. Her bat-like wings sprouted from her body as she ran, forcing away the wind around them with an audible push.

"Can someone explain what's goin' on?" Issei asked before his wings, too, jutted from his back. A biting chill ran through him as he asked the question, hoping desperately for the news to not be as bad as what he was predicting.

"The mercenaries came in the night and took the Kasais. Ddraig told us everything," Asia said with urgent brevity, her wings sprouting from her back as well.

Her answer froze Issei's blood. They actually did it; the madmen actually did it. The mercenaries risked putting themselves in a hopeless position—striking when everyone was all bunched together with Grayfia—and actually succeeded in snatching the Kasais away like eggs from a nest.

Rias threw herself out of the second-floor window, taking Asia and Issei along with her. It was only then she let go of their arms. She flew higher up into the air, stopping her ascent shortly after. "Come on!" she shouted to her subordinates before flying herself towards the cluster of buildings that was Kuoh's urban division.

Expecting to be carried along the way, Issei wasn't prepared for her to let go; he fell behind a little before his reflexes caught him up and sent him airborne.

"Ddraig? What the Hell? Why didn't you wake me up?" Issei thought, expecting a good answer.

"I tried what I could. I somehow lost contact with you the moment you went to sleep," Ddraig answered with a sharp tone.

"Ya think it might've been one of Skeletor's spells?" Issei thought as he groggily followed behind Asia, who closely followed Rias and served as the closest guide he had while his senses woke and tuned themselves.

"No. They arrived several hours after that. It wouldn't make sense for him to cast such a spell only to wait hours before doing anything," Ddraig answered.

The mentioning of magic caused a small glimmer of hope to touch Issei's heart; he thought of the warp wards Rias and Sona had placed on the Kasai family in case something like this happened. "Hey, why should we be worried anyway!? Wouldn't they just warp back to safety!?" Issei shouted, hoping his voice would permeate the roar of the winds they soared through.

"Ddraig said that the Lich broke the warp wards!" Asia answered, partially turning her body as she flew behind Rias before turning back towards her King.

That short-lived light of hope was blotted out by Asia's words and the chill of fear returned to his body. "You gotta be kiddin'," he muttered. His gaze narrowed down and he grit his teeth from behind closed lips. The brown-haired Devil, now fully awake and aware, closed the gap between him and the two girls so that he could speak without having to strain his throat. "I'm assumin' everyone else is searchin' the town?"

"Correct," Rias answered, her eyes honed to a tense glare. She put a finger to her ear. "Sona, have any of your servants found anything?"

"I'm afraid not, Rias," Sona's voice sounded from a glowing orb by Rias's head. A faint tremble could be heard from her voice.

Rias's hand dropped back to her side. "Stay strong my friend. We'll get them back," she thought before picking up her speed, her crimson hair and her school attire violently fluttering as she sped through the air.

Issei and Asia followed suit and sped up as well, the deafening sound of the wind resisting their advance running through their ears.

A thought darted through Issei's mind as the air blew upon his face. Why didn't the mercenaries kill them in their sleep? They had attained confidential information, so why didn't they take the chance to wrap up loose ends with one decisive move? Issei pushed this thought to the back of his mind for the moment, being more focused on retrieving his friends.

* * *

 **Kuoh Streets, 2:40 AM**

Due a fair distance south of the central plaza and flying over the roofs of a row of perfectly lined buildings of varied structure and height, Xenovia and a following Yuuto kept watch from above. Tomoe stayed closer to the ground, running along the rooftops.

* * *

"Anything up there, you guys?" Tomoe asked with a finger pressed to her ear as she ran. She looked to her left and to her right to see not a soul in sight save for blackbirds.

They seemed to watch her as she ran.

"No, nothing yet. How's it going down there with you?" Yuuto answered back, a finger to his ear as well. Even with a bird's-eye view, he was unable to identify any cloaked figures despite the bright streetlights below illuminating even the darkest alleyways.

"Nothing but a bunch of… what are those... Ravens? Sparrows?" Tomoe answered, prying her eyes from the rooftops and streets to pay a slight iota of attention to the birds as she passed by.

They all observed her with an air of intrigue.

"Forget the birds. They're not our concern," Xenovia remarked with a sharp tone, her finger pressed to her ear as well. Her eyes were like those of a hawk's in regards to the intensity of their gaze as she surveyed the land below her.

"R-Right," Tomoe bounced back with a stutter before she dropped her hand from her ear and continued her ground-level surveying.

Yuuto dropped his hand from his ear as well before looking down. "I think I see some movement down over there," he said, pointing towards a street a fair distance ahead of them. Much like the streets they were currently observing, it was lined with two parallel rows of houses.

Xenovia said nothing. She grit her teeth and her eyes narrowed as she sped up towards where Yuuto pointed, letting loose a rumbling growl as she did so.

Yuuto put his finger to his ear again. "Tomoe, follow me and Xenovia," he said before dropping his arm away from his ear and following Xenovia with a speed burst of his own.

* * *

Xenovia touched down upon the ground and, without even the slightest hesitation, drew out Durandal from a glowing portal that manifested beside her. "Show yourselves, you damn cowards!" she shouted, eyes darting from side to side as she hastily analyzed her surroundings.

"Xenovia, please be a little more silent. We don't want to alert the citizens," Yuuto said as he, too, landed. A Sword of Betrayer manifested from the ground beside him before he promptly drew it from its earthen sheath.

Xenovia grunted. Though she knew Yuuto was right, she adamantly refused to let that show through. "Ren, I'm going to bring you back to your home. I'm not going to let them take your smile," she thought, the warm smile of that innocent black-haired child still fresh in her mind.

Brandishing Durandal, she ran down the street, peering left and right every time she approached a branching alleyway as Yuuto followed behind her.

Tomoe ran by the two on a rooftop to their left, keeping a slightly elevated view of the terrain and a maintenance of the high ground.

Nothing ever reared its head; nothing save for flocks of blackbirds.

"Dammit Kiba, these birds better not be the motion you were seeing," Xenovia thought with boiling impatience.

"Over there!" Tomoe said with a loud voice, but not loud enough to be considered yelling.

Xenovia and Yuuto turned towards the girl, finding her with grit teeth and her katana held up in one hand. The sword pointed over to the parallel line of houses on the other side of the street. Rias's Knights looked towards where Tomoe was pointing to see a cloaked figure standing on the edge of the building, between two groups of those blackbirds which, upon closer inspection, seemed to bear vivid red eyes that pierced the pitch-black hue of their forms. Glowing, crimson-red eyes could be seen under the figure's hood; it was the Okuri-Inu, Ripper.

"You again..." Xenovia muttered as she turned towards the figure and faced Durandal towards the cloaked Youkai.

The figure said nothing, it just stood there. A thunderous chorus of birds erupted.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds repeated without end, disorienting the three's senses with the overwhelming orchestral.

The young Devils slouched over and covered their ears, but the song of the birds still pierced through. When the noise stopped, the three looked back towards Ripper.

He was no longer there: only blackbirds.

Xenovia threw her head around, looking in every direction for the figure. "What!? Are you afraid I'll slice your leg again you damn mutt!? You damn Hellhound!" Xenovia ranted, brimming with an intensely burning fury.

The birds sung their chorus once more as if laughing and mocking Xenovia's frustration. "Chi! Chi! Chi!" they sung.

A felling of chilling dread cast over the three, briefly making even Xenovia's fiery will waver. The three turned to where they felt that oppressive fear radiate. There he was, behind Yuuto and Xenovia, standing directly beneath the halo of a streetlamp with hellish crimson eyes shining through the darkness of his hood.

He didn't move. He didn't speak. He didn't even blink as he observed Xenovia and Yuuto.

A whistle in the air was heard before the flash of reflected light sped its way towards Ripper's neck; Tomoe had snuck up on him while he was fixated on the other two.

The blade of a katana halted before the Youkai's throat, hovering just millimeters away from it. "Got you!" Tomoe shouted with a tone that reeked of a smug air.

Xenovia's eyes shot wide open. "She caught him that easily? No, that can't be right," she thought.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sung once again in that same mocking manner.

A heavy feeling of uncertainty befell Tomoe, causing her previously rigid stance to give way to slight trembling. Her gaze, too, seemed to tremble. "I… I don't like where this is heading," she thought.

Ripper's already dark cloak and shaded body seemed to dim, growing darker and darker in hue until even his crimson eyes were blotted out by darkness. His form dissipated into a thick, black smoke that rose up into the sky.

Xenovia grunted and grit her teeth even harder than before. Her hold on Durandal's hilt tightened to the point it felt as if her palms tore themselves apart upon the texture of the hilt. "He's stalling. The mutt's stalling," she muttered through her closed teeth. She grunted once again as she stabbed Durandal into the ground. The blade began to glow a bright white. **"If you don't come out, I'll weed you out!"**

"Xenovia! Stop this!" Yuuto shouted, pulling the blue-haired Knight away from Durandal. The light around Durandal faded. "He's trying to test your patience, to make you angry and accident prone. He can only fight when we fumble, remember?" he spoke, holding Xenovia by her shoulders.

Xenovia grit her teeth and growled at her ally, but she understood where Yuuto was coming from nonetheless. She swallowed down her fiery storm of rage. "I understand, but the longer we wait here, the less likely we are to find the Kasais," she refuted with a calmer voice.

"They'll have to come back for the Okuri-Inu; judging from how effective he is as an assassin, they can't afford to lose him. If we can catch him, we'll at least be in a stalemate even if they do get away with the Kasais," Yuuto explained, letting Xenovia go and allowing her to retrieve Durandal.

"So we just have to catch him?" Tomoe asked, huddling up with her back towards the two Knights of Rias and raising her blade in the direction her body faced.

"Easier said than done," Xenovia remarked, placing her back up against Tomoe's and raising her blade as well.

Yuuto manifested a second sword to accompany his Sword of Betrayer. Out from the ground came a pure-white blade bearing a golden hilt, a sapphire pommel, and a gold crossguard adorned with a large sapphire within its most central point. Upon grasping its golden hilt, its sapphires twinkling in the light of the nearby streetlamps, he joined the two in their back-to-back formation.

There was silence as they surveyed their surroundings. Everywhere they looked, those same red-eyed blackbirds sat and observed the three.

Yuuto spotted the grim man standing atop a streetlamp, his crimson eyes piercing the dark of the night as they peered down upon the three. "There!" he shouted, prompting his comrades to turn their attention towards the figure above.

"Can we be certain that's the real one?" Tomoe asked, turning her head to look towards the figure but keeping her body stationary. Her blade remained facing the direction her body was to keep their defensive formation up.

Yuuto raised the white sword into the air as it brilliantly reflected whatever light was found in its surroundings. The sword began to glow brighter and beams of light began spewing from the blade like a prism exposed to a lamp.

"Chi!" sung a single bird as it descended and gashed Yuuto's hand, causing him to drop the sword.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" the rest of the flock followed, descending upon the three Knights like an overwhelming storm and attacking them with talons, wings, and beaks. They pulled upon their hair, clothing, and weapons all while the Youkai watched from above.

"Damn birds!" Xenovia exclaimed as a large clump of the red-eyed avians attempted to rip Durandal away from her. Though their individual strength was that of a normal sparrow, their sheer numbers were physically overpowering.

"Enough of this!" Yuuto shouted before a blast of light erupted from his Sword of Betrayer, scattering the birds around him and his allies. He reached for his white blade.

The birds swooped back in for another assault like a tide of feathers and talons.

Yuuto grasped the sword's golden hilt and held it up once more. It glowed the same white light from before and expelled radiant beams once again.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sung, this time sounding panicked as their physical forms were warped. They merged into a stream of darkness that flooded towards the white blade. The shadows enveloped the white sword, turning it black for the briefest of moments before the inky blackness faded to the blade's standard pure-white. As it turns out, the sword Yuuto made was a Darkness Purification Sword.

"The birds are shadows too?" Tomoe asked under her breath. "You sure we aren't fighting the black-haired Doppelgänger? I don't remember Toujou telling us anything about this guy using shadow magic."

"No, this is him. I remember this exact same feeling of dread," Xenovia said, turning back towards the streetlamp to see Ripper still standing there, silently watching them. "It's irreplicable."

* * *

The Okuri-Inu hopped down from the streetlamp, his feet failing to make a sound upon landing. From the darkness of his robe fluttered two red-eyed blackbirds.

"Chi!" they sung as they perched themselves on the Youkai's shoulders.

"So, what's the plan here?" Tomoe whispered to Xenovia.

Xenovia turned towards her allies, darting her eyes towards her own legs.

Yuuto nodded in understanding.

"What? Watch our footing?" Tomoe thought, a vacant look in her eyes piercing through her stern expression.

Xenovia's eyes narrowed before darting to Durandal, then at her legs once again.

"Oh, I see. Go for the legs," Tomoe thought before giving a nod to Xenovia.

"Meguri! With me!" Xenovia shouted before dashing towards Ripper, Tomoe closely following behind.

Yuuto manifested two Darkness Purification Swords along their paths.

The two Knights grasped the swords' hilts as they ran.

Ripper didn't even budge. He stood there and watched.

As Xenovia and Tomoe neared, a flood of blackbirds erupted from Ripper's robe and clouded their sight. The two held up their Darkness Purification Swords. In two flashes of bright white light, the birds were absorbed into the blades.

When their vision cleared, the Okuri-Inu was nowhere in sight.

"Chi!" a bird sounded from the darkened rooftops behind the three. It dove into the back of Yuuto's left knee, forcing him to buckle onto one knee. He felt a chilling, deathly aura overtake the area.

The sound of a pained grunt forced Xenovia and Tomoe to turn their heads. A robed figure stood behind Yuuto. Before either Knight could even draw a breath or shout a warning, an odd symbol manifested in front of the Youkai and he vanished from sight.

Gashes appeared along Yuuto's body before blood spurted from them like a fountain. He toppled over, falling face-down on the ground.

"Kiba!" Tomoe shouted with a heightened pitch.

"Damn it!" Xenovia shouted with an angry timbre.

The Okuri-Inu appeared before the two within arm's reach. He bore shining clean fangs and untainted claws, which quickly retracted themselves. Behind him were deep gashes upon the ground and the walls of the bordering buildings leading to where he now stood. Just how fast was this creature? Why did he choose to stop right in front of them?

Xenovia grunted and ran past Ripper. It was pointless swinging at him when he was expecting it. "Why did I think that would work!? Come on Meguri!"

Tomoe followed behind her fellow Knight while the Okuri-Inu just stood and watched.

Xenovia scooped up Yuuto in her arm and hoisted him over her shoulder, his warm blood running down her back. She continued running from the Youkai, not looking back for even a second.

"I'll split up down the next alleyway and stay on the neighboring road. He'll be going for you since you're carrying Kiba. Tell me of each turn over our communication link so we can stay close. If he's going to play cat-and-mouse with us, we'll play back," Tomoe said as she followed right behind Xenovia.

"What!?" Xenovia responded. "You're going to leave me with that bloodthirsty hound!?"

"Just trust me. We can't fight him with speed or force alone, nor can we escape him. We need to use our wits," Tomoe explained.

Xenovia nodded in understanding.

Tomoe branched off down an alleyway opening up to the next street.

Durandal vanished through a portal as Xenovia ran. She couldn't be fighting with Yuuto on her back against something she couldn't even keep up with without the extra weight. That, and the massive sword would only further slow her down as she fled.

The sounds of footsteps were heard behind Xenovia. They were rapid, but didn't sound forced or heavy at all. It was as if Ripper wasn't even trying to keep up, like it was a light jog to him.

"Meguri, your plan better go well or we're dead," Xenovia thought. She put a finger up to her ear. "Right," she said before an upcoming corner.

Ripper followed her every step, a flock of birds singing their mocking song as he followed.

* * *

 **Kuoh Cemetery, 2:40 AM**

Fairly east of Kuoh's central plaza lied one of the town's larger graveyards. A division of Sona's Peerage consisting of Genshirou Saji, Ruruko Nimura, and Sona Sitri herself believed the mercenaries took to hiding at this very location. They carefully tread through the valley of the dead, wary of an ambush.

* * *

"Ugh, never been too fond of cemeteries," Genshirou remarked under his breath. The air was still and tainted with a faint scent of death and bittersweet decay. The dark of the night, in spite of the natural night vision of the Devil, didn't serve to alleviate the dreary vibes in any regard. Frigid air as cold as a corpse swept throughout the graveyard, sending a chill down the Pawn's spine that caused him to wrap his arms around himself and slouch over for warmth.

"The leader is an undead creature himself, it wouldn't be too far-fetched an idea for him to take to hiding in a field dedicated to the fallen," Sona said. Her heart had sunk deep in her chest, but it was not out of fear of the dead or even of the mercenaries themselves. Her worries dwelled elsewhere: the safety of Daisuke and his family. She stowed away this worry and held a stoic look upon her face to boost the morale of her two Pawns, even going as far as weathering the unpleasant environment with no signs of weakness.

"You think he might raise the dead to fight us?" Ruruko asked, her head turning to the left and to the right as she kept a wary eye out for any abnormal movement and an open ear to any heavy rustling. The cold winds and dreary vibe of the graveyard had been getting to her much the same way it had got to Genshirou as evidenced by her chilly, weak-kneed posture as she walked.

"It is a possibility; but with how he battled Lucifuge, I don't think he'll need the aid against us," Sona answered.

"Then why are we trying to fight him? Shouldn't we be getting her for that?" Genshirou refuted, unsure of his King's mentality towards the issue.

Sona turned her head towards Genshirou, which caused the Pawn's body to straighten out with his arms dropped to his side. The chill of the wind paled in comparison to the frigidity of the stern look in Sona's eyes.

"If we come across the Lich, I will alarm Lucifuge. One person in each division had a seal placed on them before we set out that allows them to call upon her when needed; Rias and I are two notable examples of such individuals. That being said, **we only summon her if the Lich appears**. If we summon her for any other one of the mercenaries, the group actually facing him will be rendered utterly helpless until Lucifuge gets to them. Judging from the magical prowess of the Lich, however, even her urgency would be unlikely to save them in time," she explained in a sharp tone with hushed volume.

"Understood, President," Genshirou said with a bow before the three continued onward into the older premises of the graveyard.

* * *

As they progressed, the area became more and more overgrown with weeds and other plant life. The introduction of soothing, green stems and vivid flowers sprouting from the ground helped to lighten not only the overwhelmingly grim feel of the cemetery but also the sad visual of weathered names engraved on old stones and life-stories lost to time.

"Man, it's crazy how nature works. Even in a place of gloom and doom, life finds a way to not only thrive, but bring beauty to everything it touches," Genshirou remarked.

"That's because the human corpses serve as a surplus of nutrients for the plant life here. There will be more plants growing elsewhere; these ones just had the luxury of going undisturbed for decades," Sona said with a cold voice.

"I know that, but it's still amazing, Maybe Buddhism was onto someth-" Genshirou said, the squeak of a shoe sole halting his words. "Agh!"

"Saji! What happened?" Sona exclaimed, turning towards her Pawn with utmost urgency.

There, laying before a low-lying headstone completely enveloped in unkempt grass, was Genshirou face-down on the ground.

Sona cupped her face in the palm of her hand, sliding her fingers under her glasses as to not smudge the lens. She let out an exasperated sigh before speaking. "Bloody Hell, Saji, I thought one of the mercenaries did something to you."

"Bloody Hell? I see he's rubbin' off on you a little," Ruruko remarked with a giggle.

"Can we save the teasing and whatnot for when this operation has come to a close? This is a serious matter," Sona barked, her face gaining a slight tinge of red despite her stern words.

Ruruko obliged her King's wishes and put aside her playful banter for the moment.

Genshirou pulled himself from the ground and dusted off whatever dirt he can from his attire.

And so, the three trailed on. The darkness of the graveyard grew more and more oppressive as they headed deeper into the graveyard. Were they heading in the right direction? Were they on the verge of stumbling across some unknown threat? Another obstacle much like the Humbaba conjured by the Lich perhaps? Indiscriminate of what lied ahead, the three prepared themselves for a confrontation.

"Be ready..." Sona said as the darkness grew to an unnatural intensity, becoming a suffocating cloud of bleakness that threatened to snuff out any hopes of vision if they continued.

A blue magic circle appeared before Sona's hand; it didn't help to penetrate the dark in even the slightest, but it did summon forth an orb of water that remained primed and stagnant before the circle.

Ruruko promoted herself to a Queen while Genshirou promoted himself to a Rook and summoned forth his Absorption Line. They focused their senses on the everything around them, gradually losing focus on sight as they progressed to compensate for the loss of vision.

There was rustling that sounded a little too heavy to be the rustling of dead leaves blown against stone. The air smelt a little too foul for it to be standard decomposition. Whistling could be heard from around them that sounded too lively for it to just be the wind.

Suddenly, the cloud of shadow dropped itself. All the grim sensations from before washed away as vision returned to the three Devils. They looked around, wide-eyed and confused, before turning behind to find themselves before the graveyard's entry gate.

"What? How did we wind up back here? I could've sworn we were going straight the whole time," Genshirou whispered, placing his hand against the bar-frame of the old wrought iron gate. The rough feel of rust and the dry chippings of weathering and other unknown substances made his skin crawl in repulsion. This was no illusion; they were back to where they had started their search.

"I'm startin' to think the Lich isn't the one we're stuck with," Ruruko muttered with a narrowed glare. The darkness felt too familiar to her. The dense, inky-black cloud capable of blotting out even the vision of a Devil. The total feeling of aimlessness and fear of what dwelled just beyond their sight. She knew who the culprits were.

* * *

An eerie, feminine giggle sounded to their left.

The three Devils turned towards the noise, Sona almost immediately breaking into a sprint towards it. Ruruko and Genshirou, though taken aback briefly by Sona's impulsive action, followed behind her.

They ran through the cemetery. Every so often, the voice would giggle from another direction, to which Sona responded by turning, on a dime no less, and running towards the voice. Ruruko and Genshirou struggled to keep up with Sona's sharp turns and were thus forced to promote themselves to Knights to keep pace.

The giggling stopped after a while. Having no lead to follow, Sona stopped her rush. Her breaths were lightly labored despite the almost wild nature of her run. Following her, Ruruko and Genshirou stopped behind their King.

"Show yourself!" Sona shouted before gritting her teeth behind closed lips. Her gaze was unblinking and piercing as she looked around the cemetery from where she stood. Something caught her eye: ruffled and broken blades of grass in an otherwise untouched field of foliage. Someone had to have been here just recently.

"Hold on a second..." Genshirou said, moving towards the patch of grass. He knelt down and shuffled the grass around to find a familiar low-lying headstone. "We just went in a circle. Whoever's out here is toying with us."

"You're kidding..." Sona said with an airy, yet agitated, voice. The magic circle she held before vanished as well as the orb of water stationed in front of it.

"No, I'm not. You can even see where my shoe scuffed the polish of the stone when I tripped," Genshirou answered, pointing towards a thick, black streak on the side of the stone.

"Maybe it's the Grim Reaper? It wouldn't be beyond her to play these childish games," Sona suggested.

"No. It's not that bitch," Ruruko said. She stepped ahead of her allies, hands perched on her hips. "Hey, you red-eyed freaks of nature, I know you're stringin' us along to stall for time!"

"Who's here?" a familiar, light-toned voice sounded from behind the three.

The three turned towards the source of the voice and were met by a lone tree. Immediately, a figure feebly poking out from the side of the tree caught their attention. The left half of a familiar face could be discerned from what little was presented. Platinum-blonde hair dangled from the person's head with dagger-like ears standing in defiance of the streaks. A large, pink eye was visible.

It was Gasper, the infamously timid Dhampir, in a place as unwelcoming as this.

"Vladi?" Genshirou said quietly. He shook his head before speaking with stern words. "Show us the rest of your face."

Gasper head reeled back behind the tree with a meek yelp.

"If you really are Gasper, you should have no qualms with showin' us the other side of your face," Ruruko said, friendlily but mildly assertive.

Platinum-blonde hair began poking out from the other side of the tree. Following behind it were pointed ears and, above all else, a matching pink right eye.

Ruruko let out a sigh of relief. "You finally decided to come out of your box to help us, I see. We could really use your help here," she remarked with a soft smile.

"I don't trust it..." Genshirou said with a cold voice.

Gasper pulled himself back behind the tree, accompanied by another yelp. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Saji is right. Step out from behind the tree; it's the only way to be sure," Sona said with an equally cold voice. A serpent made of water manifested around her. "Do it: prove you are truly Vladi."

Silence came from behind the tree.

"I will give until the count of five before we are forced to attack you. If you are Vladi, it would be best to muster up your courage immediately," Sona announced, signaling for Genshirou to summon forth his Absorption Line and for Ruruko to get into a battle-ready position. "One..."

"P-Please, I-I just want to help!" Gasper said with plentiful quaking in his voice.

"Two..."

"Why are you all being so mean to me?" Gasper asked, sounding as if he was actually crying mid-sentence.

"Three..."

"Miss Sona, you're scaring me!" Gasper plead. His desperation and fear was convincing.

"President, maybe it is him. I don't think they could be that good at acting," Ruruko said, dropping her stance as uncertainty crawled up her spine.

"Yeah, that fear sounds pretty genuine," Genshirou said as he dropped his guard, unwilling to hurt the poor Dhampir.

Sona, however, wasn't swayed. "Four..." she said with an aggressive rumble.

* * *

A sigh was heard. "A tough mind to twist, aren't you?" A feminine voice said from behind the tree. Out stepped Gasper with a red and black left eye and a pink right eye, both bearing an almost crazed look. Accompanying this gaze was an insidious grin. His shape contorted and stretched like slime. The fairly small frame of the Dhampir was warped into a sickly green mass that seemed to expand into a vaguely humanoid shape. The mass molded and refined itself, both in shape and color, into the form of a darkly hooded figure bearing a broken Faceless Mask Longinus covering all but its green right eye and grim left eye; it was Umbra.

"Your wit is as sharp as the rumors lead on, heiress of Sitri," another feminine voice spoke from behind the tree. Out stepped Gasper with a red and black right eye and a pink left eye, both bearing a calm look. Accompanying this gaze was an almost serene smile. His shape contorted and stretched like slime. The fairly small frame of the Dhampir was warped into a sickly green mass that seemed to expand into a vaguely humanoid shape. The mass molded and refined itself, both in shape and color, into the form of a darkly hooded figure bearing a broken Faceless Mask Longinus covering all but its green left eye and grim right eye; it was Lux.

"I fuckin' knew it!" Ruruko said, getting back into a battle-ready stance.

"Did you really, Meguri? It seemed our act convinced you well enough for you to accept us as the Dhampir," Lux said, tilting her head slightly.

"Had it not been for Sona, you would've been a helpless hatchling ripe for plucking," Umbra said, finishing Lux's thought in a grim fashion.

"That doesn't matter now. Where are you keeping them?" Sona interjected with a steely stare.

"Like we'd tell you," Umbra answered with a snarky sneer.

"Do you take us as meek?" Lux followed with a serene tone backing her words.

"You know what happened last time. Tell us or we'll force you," Genshirou said, getting into a fighting stance with his still manifested Absorption Line.

"The only reason you won against us last time was because of Rias's Knight," Lux said. Her Faceless Mask transformed into a Sacred Gear in the form of a pair of wings made from milky-white bones. Even with the mask gone, all that could be seen from her face was a black canvas decorated by mismatched eyes and a gentle, yet slight, smile. She sprouted her six Angel wings on top of the Sacred Gear, giving her eight wings in total, and took to the air.

"Now there's only the three of you, alone and utterly helpless," Umbra said. Her Faceless Mask transformed into a Sacred Gear in the form of an onyx-black ring embedded with a crystal skull that wrapped around her left index finger. Even with the mask gone, all that could be seen from her face was a black canvas decorated by mismatched eyes and a grin rife with sadistic excitement. She pressed her left hand into the ground, forcing black electricity to erupt from the ground around her and arc throughout the graveyard.

"I don't think I like where this is going…" Genshirou muttered.

The ground below the Devils began to rumble and growl as the dirt before the abundant tomb stones began to bulge up and fall away. The creaking of mausoleum doors could be heard from all around them and low, guttural croaking and labored groaning could be heard in every direction.

"No… you didn't…" Sona said, her eyes wide with terror.

Out from a nearby grave rose a corpse partially decayed and eaten away at by subterranean creatures. Bodily fluids leaked from various wounds and a centipede crawled out of its mouth. It groaned in a raspy voice and its head turned to the three Devils.

"You're endangering this whole town just to get a hold of one family! Are you truly that desperate!?" Sona shouted.

"Don't worry, they are completely under our control and only exist to fight you," Lux said, summoning forth a massive light spear that hovered just above her.

"That being said, they are primed and hungry for your flesh and bone marrow," Umbra said, her shadow slowly leaking out and expanding across the area as her very body became more and more draped in darkness.

"You guys take care of the Doppelgängers and I'll fight off the corpses," Ruruko said before rushing off into the cemetery to fend off the developing horde of the reanimated dead. She swapped her promotion from Knight back to Rook to make her body tough enough to endure the hordes' scratches and bites.

"Meguri! Be careful!" Sona shouted to her Pawn before turning her attention back to the Doppelgänger duo.

Umbra's ever-expanding shadow pooled up into a large puddle behind her. Segments of the puddle rose up into pillars slanted towards Sona and Genshirou and sharpened into a floor of spikes. With little warning, the spikes shot out towards the two.

Sona sicked her coiled water serpent on Umbra and put up a barrier around her and her Pawn.

The spikes broke upon the barriers around Sona and Genshirou before crawling their ways back towards Umbra.

Meanwhile, the water serpent flew and weaved between each shadowy spike as it made its way towards Umbra.

A blinding beam of light shot from above. The serpent immediately vaporized in the face of the light.

Sona and Genshirou looked up to see Lux waving her hand through the air, forming a crucifix of light before drawing a circle around it. The crucifix began to glow brighter until light filled the insignia.

"Watch out President!" Genshirou shouted, prompting Sona to leap to the side as he did the same.

Just as they did so, a blinding beam of light erupted and struck right where they stood before, burning a crater into the ground. The area around the hole glowed orange with heat. While the barriers would've negated most of the damage, there was no telling what the remaining damage would've done to the two.

"This Doppelgänger knows more about Angel magic than I thought," Sona thought. Her eyes focused on Lux, briefly disregarding Umbra.

A hand of shadow lunged from beneath Sona, wrapping itself around the Sitri heiress and her barrier. It grasped her with great force, pressuring the barrier and threatening to engulf her if the barrier were to fail. With vision blurred by inky blackness, Sona was unable to see anything beyond her barrier.

"Oh no you don't," Genshirou muttered before sprinting towards Umbra.

Another barrage of shadowy spikes flew towards Genshirou. Despite the overwhelming wave of hardened shadows, he scraped by due to Sona's protective magic and kept going.

The sky above Genshirou glowed brighter, urging him to look up. Above him, the large light spear that had hovered above Lux began barreling its way towards him.

He stopped on a dime and leaped to the side, avoiding the spear.

A mighty blast erupted from the spear. The barrier around Genshirou shattered as it desperately tried to hold back the force of the explosion, sending the Devil flying.

Genshirou tumbled and rolled a fair distance before catching himself.

"How am I supposed to get a hit in if they can hold me at bay like this. I could try to hold one of them with my Absorption line. No... the other will focus me down and we'll both be screwed. Damn it," Genshirou thought. He turned his gaze to where Sona was imprisoned. "Hold on, President!" he shouted before evading a smaller light spear from Lux.

* * *

 **Kuoh Woods, 2:40 AM**

Venturing out westwards from Kuoh's central plaza and into the dense woods nearby Kuoh Academy, Koneko Toujou, Akeno Himejima, and Tsubasa Yura traverse the wilderness near where they had fought the mercenaries for the first time. Along the path, Koneko detects fresh traces of a presence and issues a scan of the nearby area. Akeno takes to the skies to gain a bird's eye view of the ground below, ensuring the mercenaries no sanctity in the canopy. Koneko takes to the ground to closely follow the trail she picked up, hoping to catch up with whomever left the aura trail. Tsubasa hops from tree to tree to gain a heightened, albeit fairly obscured, range of view over the area while also obscuring her presence from the world below and above within a sea of leaves and branches.

* * *

"Are you certain this is the right place, Toujou?" Tsubasa asked, perching herself on a tree branch with a finger to her ear.

"I picked up a familiar energy here; they have to be close," Koneko answered with a flat voice.

Akeno's mind was adrift, only half-mindedly paying attention to the world below her. Her heart felt as if it would drag her back to earth with how heavy it was to her. The possibility of losing someone she just developed such a close bond with was a most dreadful thought to her.

"Himejima, anything up there?" the voice of Tsubasa rang in her ear, to which she blocked out as she wandered her mind.

"When we get you back, I'm never letting you out of my sight again," Akeno thought, holding her arms close to her chest.

"Himejima?" Tsubasa's voice spoke once again with a worried tone.

This broke Akeno from her daze. She threw her hand up to her ear. "Yes, yes. What is it?"

A sigh was heard over their communications link. "Good, you're still there. Answer me next time, I thought one of them got you too," Tsubasa said.

"Focus," Koneko spoke with a slightly agitated tone of voice.

"I just got a little lost in thought, that's all. I don't see anything up here so far," Akeno said.

"Just pay a little more attention from now on. We can't save them if even one of us is slacking," Tsubasa said before dropping her hand from her ear and continuing her tree jumping.

With those words, Akeno dropped her arm to her side and took in a deep breath. She held it for a few seconds and, upon releasing her stored air, let such worries slip to the back of her mind for the moment. "Can't argue with that..." she hushedly said with strengthened resolve before placing a hand back up to her ear. "Koneko, what energies did you pick up?"

"A mutt and a human. Can't tell which yet," Koneko said.

"So some combination of the Okuri-Inu, the Irish boxer, the German psychic, and the Werewolf?" Tsubasa said.

"That sounds about right," Akeno answered.

"On me. I found fresh tracks," Koneko ordered.

"Can you give us a sign of where you're at?" Akeno asked.

"Be quick..." Koneko spoke sharply. She concentrated her demonic energy into a brief, prominent aura to serve as a form of beacon.

"Alright, on my way," Tsubasa said, heading towards the direction of Koneko's spiked energy.

Akeno, without saying anything, flew towards Koneko's direction at high speed. Despite her velocity, it would still take a short while before she could reach the petite Rook.

* * *

Koneko, left alone and predicting an enemy ambush, took a moment to investigate the environment from the clearing she stood in. Not much could be made from what she saw. A sea of trees pierced the sky and blotted out most of the waning moon's light. Gazing into the woods from between the trees only yielded a glimpse into dense foliage. All that could be heard was the nocturnal tune of night-dwelling insects and frogs accompanied by a background of leaves rustling in the wind. Oddly enough, there were no owls hooting along.

The sounds of nature, though deafening in silence, were pierced by a voice.

"A mutt huh?" a familiar, female voice spoke to the left of Koneko. Out from the cover of the woods came a hooded figure bearing a red, dog-like tail. It was the Werewolf: Huntress.

Koneko turned to face the woman, taking a defensive combat stance. Her round and inexpressive eyes narrowed to a steely glare.

"Hey, isn't she the cheeky blade ya said smelt like a puss?" a familiar, male voice bearing an Irish brogue spoke from the opposite side of the clearing. Out from behind a hearty tree came a hooded figure fiddling with a pair of golden gauntlets attached to the arms. It was the bearer of Strike Stockpile: Swarmer.

Koneko turned partially towards the man. She leaped back in order to keep the two of them within her cone of sight. "I knew they would be on me, but I didn't think they'd be this close by. You two better hurry," she thought.

"Yeah, she is. And ya know what 'mutts' do to little cats, right?" Huntress asked, her hooded attire only allowing sight to touch a ferocious grin. She slouched over as if she was getting ready to attack. Claws grew from her hands and a set of claws jutted from under her robe where her feet would be. From her mouth grew large canine teeth that turned her grin into a fierce smile.

"Now hold your shite, Animorphette. I'm gettin' the first jab," Swarmer spoke to his ally with his attention trained on Koneko. Though his face and eyes were obscured, Koneko could tell he was looking at her with a vengeful glare. He cracked his knuckles, giving way to an audible series of pops from both of his hands, before smashing his fists together with a metallic clang.

"Sorry dude, but I'm goin' first. Me and her have a score to settle," Huntress refuted, turning towards her ally.

"You be actin' like she busted your dial somethin' fierce when ya can naturally feckin' regenerate. Piss off with that," Swarmer barked back at Huntress with a hostile voice.

"I got blasted by the fucker with the Boosted Gear, I think I deserve the first hit more by that alone," Huntress argued back, approaching Swarmer in a hostile manner.

"Then take it up with that himbo. Last I heard, he snuck up on your arse. How are you 'bout to let a walkin' alarm clock that goes off every ten feckin' seconds jump ya? If anythin', ya deserved that blast for slackin' off the way you did ya hairy ejit," Swarmer argued, approaching Huntress in an aggressive manner as well.

The two met and butted heads with each other in a literal sense, barking back, forth, and together too quickly and angrily for Koneko to understand.

"Oh… good… they're both idiots," Koneko thought. The display, despite it buying her some time, was exhausting to witness. Any form of danger she had felt prior was replaced with an aching disappointment.

The two went on, stubbornly arguing over who would get the first round. First, Huntress would provide a point, then Swarmer would shut it down and provide his own before it, too, was shut down by Huntress. The cycle kept on for a few minutes

To Koneko, however, the entire thing felt as if hours slowly ground away with each turn the two took to bicker. She wanted to break the cycle, but she knew that it would only lead to her being ganged up on.

Motion in the trees permeated the monotony and drew Koneko's attention.

Huntress sighed. "Ya know what, to Hell with it. There's no point in arguin' with a boxer whose been hit on the head a few times too many," she said with crossed arms and a stout, upwards pointing tail.

Suddenly, the heel of a foot smashed against the Werewolf's head, the force of the attack pressing her face into the ground.

Her assailant, rebounding off the floored Werewolf, sailed through the air and landed perfectly beside Koneko.

Koneko turned to get a look at her aid to see Tsubasa standing beside her with a few twigs and fallen leaves jutting out from her blue hair.

"Looks like I got here before things went too far south," Tsubasa said with a smug grin and light panting.

Meanwhile, Swarmer couldn't help but break out into a fit of hysterical laughter. He held his gut with one arm and pointed towards his downed ally with his other. "What's that about gettin' hit in the head? **I couldn't hear ya over the amount of shite ya just ate!** Woooweee!" he said, wiping his hooded face with the back of his gauntlet before turning his attention towards Koneko and Tsubasa. "Aaaaallrighty then, back to business. Which one of ya dolls are gonna get decked in the teeth first?"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down upon the man with a mighty boom, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt. Blackened feathers fell around Koneko and Tsubasa, signaling Akeno's presence as she descended down to her allies' sides.

The man stood a little less than firm when the cloud of dusty debris settled, slouching over with his arms at his sides and his robe burnt a fair bit on his back. "Karma's one cruel biddy, ain't she?" he said with a defeated tone of voice. He let out a sigh before getting into a boxer's stance. "Ya ready, pup?"

Huntress pulled her face from the ground, her tail wagging slowly as she growled. "I am gettin' sick of this… Yeah, I'm ready."

"Fair dig, ya feckin' pack a' gobshites!" he shouted before tucking his body in with his fists held up to his face. He broke out into a rush towards the three.

A magic circle appeared before Akeno, an arc of lightning promptly shooting out from the circle and towards Swarmer.

Swarmer weaved out of the path of the arc and kept going.

A flurry of six arcs shot from the circle before Koneko and Tsubasa sprouted their wings and flew towards Swarmer under the cover of Akeno's supporting barrage.

Swarmer stopped his advance and lined his fists together. The six arcs hit him head on, his Strike Stockpile glowing more radiant with each strike. He pulled his fists away from each other before returning to his boxer stance.

Koneko flew in with a diving kick.

Tsubasa rushed in with a spinning kick to Swarmer's side.

Swarmer blocked both strikes with his forearms. He grabbed Koneko's leg and tossed her aside like a broken toy before turning to Tsubasa and driving his fist into her gut.

The strike blew away the surrounding air and took Tsubasa's breath away. As quickly as the strike hit, the Devil was sent careening away from the fistfighter.

Koneko recovered from Swarmer's toss-away and started another rush towards him while his attention was turned towards her allies.

Huntress lunged out of the blue and tackled Koneko out of the air, forcing her to the ground. She crouched atop of the small Rook with readied claws and reeled back in preparation to slash at Koneko with wild abandon.

Akeno sent a supporting rush of lightning arcs to blast away Huntress, successfully nailing the Werewolf with every arc. The Werewolf was launched back by the strike, giving Koneko some breathing room.

"Karma!" Swarmer shouted before his fist landed squarely in Akeno's face. Another shockwave erupted from his fist before sending Akeno flying.

She crashed against a tree with a loud thud before falling to her knees. The cold feel of steel lingered and the taste of iron welled up in her mouth. A ringing took hold of her ears as her vision became blurry.

Swarmer walked up to the downed Akeno. His Strike Stockpile glowed a brilliant golden light that partly illuminated what lied beneath his hood. The only thing that could be put together was a solemn straightness to his mouth, almost seeming regretful in nature. "Ya know, I don't really take a likin' to hurtin' dolls like yourself; that's why I pulled my punch a wee more than a wee bit. I coulda made you a Butter Face Betsie. Keep that fresh in your mind next time ya look in the mirror."

A twig snap was heard to his side. He turned to be met with a fist to his face.

"Talk shit, get hit…" Koneko said with a deathly coldness in her voice.

Swarmer reeled back a little from the strike. His hood fell down for a brief moment, revealing short and messy brown hair. He flipped his hood back up and turned towards Koneko before spitting out some blood. "Ohohoho. Now you: I'm gonna make your face look like your arse for that 'un," he said, hopping in place. He raised his fists up and got back into a boxer stance.

"Suck it…" Koneko remarked.

"Maybe after ya get that ten-meter pole outta your arse, ya bleedin' stick in the mud," Swarmer retorted.

Another twig snap was heard behind him.

"Nah-ah! Not this time!" Swarmer shouted before turning and blocking a punch with his forearm. He stood face-to-face with Tsubasa.

Tsubasa lunged back and prepared another strike.

Swarmer weaved out of the way, hopping off and away from Akeno while keeping his body facing the Fallen Angel hybrid. From behind his head, Koneko's fist sailed through the air.

The two Devil Rooks' fists clashed against one another in a menacing display of sheer strength. Koneko and Tsubasa pulled their arms back before rushing to the injured Akeno's side.

Standing in the clearing, the combatants separated themselves into two sides. Koneko, Akeno, and Tsubasa were basically cornered up against a tree, the only escape being the darkness of the woods that would prove to be of little aid against a Werewolf's nose. Huntress and Swarmer commanded a majority of the clearing with Swarmer taking the lead and Huntress staying behind him. The fight had only begun and the three Devils were already at a disadvantage.

Things only got worse from there. The cracking of bone and ripping of flesh was heard behind Swarmer. Tsubasa and Koneko looked past the man to see Huntress hunched over. Brown fur sprouted from her tanned body before being dyed a red hue. Her body mass grew and grew. She was attempting to transform into her red-furred beast form.

A lightning arc shot out from between the two Rooks, bypassed Swarmer, and struck Huntress. The bolt knocked her away and halted her transformation.

"Someone keep tabs on the Werewolf! We can't afford to let her transform!" Akeno shouted, a thin stream of blood trailing from her mouth as she stood in a slight daze.

"Good luck with that one…" Huntress retorted, the glint of her teeth revealing a grin from under her hood. She turned around and, on all fours, sprinted into the woods. "Keep 'em busy, knucklehead!"

"Sure, sure… Leave the tough shite for **Ye Ol' Human Punchlad** while your furry **What-cha-ma-call-it-pilus Werewolf of Bust Shite Up** arse runs off to get a handicap," Swarmer muttered, gazing off at his ally as she fled.

The whistling of a fist through the air signaled an attack. With reflexes as sharp as his vocabulary is colorful, he blocked the strike with his forearm.

"You wanted a good fight. Well, here it is. No going back now," Tsubasa said with a smirk.

"The cheek of this one, startin' after gettin' busted up twice," Swarmer replied, his arm failing to budge in Tsubasa's attempt to overpower him. "How's this then?" he asked before reeling his head back and bashing it against Tsubasa's.

Tsubasa stumbled back only a little. Oddly enough, there was no accompanying shockwave from this attack. A realization, more or less a theory, struck Tsubasa's mind. "Toujou, Himejima, get the Werewolf! I think I got the download on this guy!" she shouted.

Swarmer turned his attention towards the two.

Akeno snapped herself from her daze and Koneko got into a defensive position in front of her ally, ready for another assault.

"Gwan. Make that pup work for her win condition. I won't stop ya," Swarmer said.

Akeno's brow raised and Koneko harbored an uncertain look in her golden eyes.

"Ya dense!? Gwan before she goes beast!" he shouted, pointing in the direction Huntress ran off in.

Koneko and Akeno ran past Tsubasa, leaving their own words of encouragement as they passed her by.

"Kick his ass," Koneko remarked.

"Be careful," Akeno warned.

Swarmer made no sudden moves even when the two were within arm's-length of him. He continued to point in the direction Huntress had fled.

Even with Swarmer's compliance, the two Devils kept a close eye on him as they passed him. They disappeared into the woods, leaving Tsubasa alone with Swarmer.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Tsubasa asked, her arms lowered to her sides. What was he planning?

"She relies too much on that ol' beast form. If anythin' goes even a wee bit wrong, she just pops it like a damn bottle o' pain killers and has at it. I'm cut to the bone from that shite having been a man who worked to the bone to get my strength. Ya get what I'm sayin'?" Swarmer answered, tilting his head with one hand perched on his hip.

"You do realize we may kill her if it comes down to it?" Tsubasa asked.

"Nah, I wouldn't bet a crisp on it: not even one. Archmage done had his premonition. You lot lost before we even met," he said, perching his other hand his hip. Though his face was obscured, Tsubasa could tell he was looking down on her with an air of arrogant sureness.

"You want to bet on that?" Tsubasa retorted with a narrowed gaze, getting into a fighting stance in defiance of her opponent's claim. She grit her teeth. "All I have to do is avoid his fists. Strike Stockpile only seems to affect his punches," she thought.

"Now **that** , I'd bet me nelly on," Swarmer said, raising his fists up and getting into a boxer's stance.

* * *

 **Kuoh Park, 2:40 AM**

Due quite a ways north of the central plaza flew three of Sona's most magically inclined Peerage members: Tsubaki Shinra, Momo Hanakai, and Reya Kusaka. After flying about for what felt like hours over the grassy expanses of the lightly wooded park below with nothing to show for it, they took to the nearby Kuoh Lake. The vast body of water stretched on into the horizon with a glistening display of moonlight dancing upon its gentle ripples and waves.

* * *

"I could've sworn I detected an energy spike around here," whispered Reya as she sat upon a bench by the water's edge.

"Could it be that they ran us through a loop?" Tsubaki pondered, failing to keep her thoughts to herself. The moonlight cast a slight gleam upon her glasses as she racked her head in thought, arms crossed underneath her breasts.

"I mean, they're mercenaries; they have to have some kind of wit to survive their line of work," Reya said, resting her elbows on her legs as she propped her head up with her hands. She gazed off into the twinkling lake.

"I'll see if I can do a run through of the left half of the park again," Momo suggested, taking off to the left as her snow-white hair weakly fluttered in the mild turbulence of her slow ascent.

"I suppose I'll take the right half then..." Reya said. She got up from the bench and sprouted her leathery, bat-like wings.

"We've combed the park the best we could. Any further scouting would just be a waste of energy and time," Tsubaki said, halting the two with her words. She adjusted her glasses before looking up.

"Then what do we do? We can't just stand here," Reya retorted, plopping herself back down onto the bench before once again resting her head on her hands supported by arms anchored to her thighs.

"You said you detected **an** energy spike? As in one? Right?" Momo asked as she descended down to sit by Reya on the left side of the bench.

"Yes. Why do you need to know that in specific?" Reya answered, gazing back off into the twinkling lake. Her thoughts began to wander.

"We can use that information to narrow down who we could've been following," Tsubaki said. She walked up to the right side of the bench: where Reya was sitting. "It's unlikely that we're dealing with the Doppelgänger duo; unless one of them is using its Faceless Mask to hide one of their presences in some way, of course. I don't think it was the Lich either."

"It definitely wasn't the Lich. That one has a distinct feel to its energy: ancient, steeped in magic, and overwhelming," Reya said.

"Could you describe how the energy felt?" Momo asked, gazing off into the mesmerizing lake as well.

"It felt… oddly gentle: serene even," Reya answered.

"Angelic?" Tsubaki inquired, turning her head towards her ally.

"Not really. It felt a little more tranquil. Like that of..." Reya paused. Her eyes jolted wide open and she looked out into the lake's horizon. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled a warning she had overheard while engrossed in researching their enemy.

"If the enemy Wani transforms, **do not** attempt to fight it: **just run.** Toujou informed me that Wanis will most likely transform when near a large body of water, so be wary of your surroundings when fighting that thing," Genshirou's words rang in her head.

"Water..." Reya finished with a restricted voice.

The originally entrancing glisten of the lake then felt more like a blanket: a blanket covering unseen eyes of an aquatic monstrosity that observed the three's every move, waiting to lunge from the surface and drag them all into a watery grave. Every countless shimmer of light that vanished began to look more like blinking eyes of an ancient, unholy creature of the watery abyss.

"It's a trap..." she said with a hushed and hurried voice. She leaped away from the water's edge and over the bench, turning away from the lake in preparation to flee. "We need to run, now!"

"You mean..." Tsubaki began. Her heterochromic eyes shot wide open. She, too, understood the implications. Her heart hastened for every second the lake was in view.

Momo, sharing an unspoken understanding of the situation, prepared to flee with her comrades. Turning her back to the lake made her blood run cold. The anticipation of being snatched up in the Wani's maw made it hard to keep her eyes off of the water.

* * *

The three ran from the water, even gaining a bit of elevation as they prepared to take to the air, but were unable to get far before a voice called from behind them.

"Please stay. I have no desire to hurt you," a gentle, female voice spoke.

The three looked back towards the lake to see a cloaked figure having appeared seemingly from thin air. It stood upon the surface of the water, a spot of frozen lake underfoot.

It seemed fairly voluptuous even through the obscuring dark robes it wore, bearing a healthy bust and wide hips. The figure tightly clutched a blue, coral-like trident in its hands, the prongs facing down to the water below in a stance that seemed passive. The moonlight refracted through a blue gem embedded in the weapon and gave off a blue, electric light. Without a doubt, it was the Wani: Typhoon.

"I... I just want to talk a little," Typhoon said, walking herself towards the shore of the lake. As she walked, the water before her froze into a crystalline path of ice while the frozen water behind her, having no more use as a platform, returned to a liquid state.

The three slowed their retreat, but were still primed to flee at the slightest sign of danger.

"Oh, i-is my Gear worrying you? I'm sorry," Typhoon said with an oddly genuine and shaky voice. Her Storm Core glowed a blue light before returning to her being as streaks of erratically branching electricity. She slowly advanced closer to the boundary between land and water, her blue eyes shining from underneath her hood.

Though a little more relaxed now that their opponent had lowered her weapon, the three were still reluctant to reciprocate her approach and meet her halfway. They stood still, watching her with wary eyes.

"Where are they?" Tsubaki broke her silence with a sharp tone of voice.

"My allies are spread around the town. Archmage divided us up depending on his...well... I'm not sure if me talking about it will affect the outcome," Typhoon answered with a weak tone of voice. She stepped upon the shore and walked up to the bench the three once loitered by.

Tsubaki cocked her head back and her mouth fell partially agape. Her question was referring to the Kasais' location, but this information was widely welcomed as well. "It seems this one is easily imposed on. I might be able to make use of her without even having to fight her," she thought before putting a hand to her ear.

"Archmage lined this place with communication-jamming ward spells. You can't contact anyone outside the range of the park," Typhoon warned softly.

Her words failed to reach Tsubaki as she tried anyway. "Shinra to President. They've split themselves up. I think they're planning a divide-and-conquer approach."

Nothing was heard on the other end.

"President! Do you hear me?" Tsubaki shouted.

No avail. No voice came from the other end.

A knob-like projection then protruded from her ear. She twirled her hand as if turning a dial on a radio. "Yura! Meguri! Anyone! Can anyone hear me?" Tsubaki attempted again, twirling the dial-like projection several times in a hurry.

Nothing.

Tsubaki dropped her hand from her ear and the projection sank back into her head. "What's going on?"

"Was I not loud enough? Archmage lined the place with jamming magics. I tried to save you the time and effor-" Typhoon spoke, holding onto her arm with her other hand.

"Don't patronize me. What do you need to speak to us about?" Tsubaki interrupted with a cold tone of voice and crossed arms, hoping to pin the Wani in a submissive mindset on the spot.

"O-Oh, y-yes. Of course," Typhoon responded with a slight jolt of her body. She walked around the bench, drawing water from both the lake and the very air itself to form an armchair and table set-up bearing a large, circular table and four armchairs that looked oddly comfortable despite being made out of lake water. "Take a seat… if you wish, of course."

"I… would rather stay as far away from the lake as I can," Reya remarked with hesitation. The offer looked promising, but her instincts told her otherwise.

"Oh, I suppose that is fair. I am a Wani, afterall," Typhoon said with a disheartened tone and shuttered eyes shining under her hood. She looked down at the watery table, one of the chairs falling to the ground and becoming a puddle as she did so. "Do either of you want to sit down?"

"I'm fine with standing," Tsubaki answered, arms still crossed.

"I can't really trust you all too well, so I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Momo answered.

"Very well then. I suppose it is unwise to put trust in me given all that has happened," Typhoon lamented. The rest of the chairs, save for the one she sat in, turned into puddles.

* * *

"Now, I will ask you this once: where are the Kasais?" Tsubaki inquired, a growl in her voice being heard as she spoke.

"Titan has them... he, Archmage, Hybrid, and Harvest. In case you don't know, Titan is the large man with the maces, Hybrid is the Doppelgänger not part of the duo, and Harvest is the Grim Reaper. They wait in the town's central plaza for the group with Grayfia," Typhoon spoke. These answers were all coming along a little too easy.

"Wait? Why not make off with them right there?" Momo asked.

"Titan has to be there when Ddraig initiates the Dragon of Supremacy. If they don't stand by, the Dragon will release itself out of pure rage and obliterate the town," Typhoon answered.

"How do you know all of this? Why are you intending on protecting this place? What's this about a Dragon of Supremacy and how can you be certain your ally can handle it?" Tsubaki asked in rapid succession, gritting her teeth and clutching her sleeves tightly.

With every question, Typhoon lowered her head some more. "It's all part of Archmage's vision. He foresaw everything happening currently and even potential variations," Typhoon spoke with a hurried voice. She gently held her hand against her mouth.

Reya's mouth dropped and her breathing stopped for a brief moment. "So he's capable of precognition? Everything we've tried and planned has been all part of his own plan?" she thought.

Momo held her hands close to her chest, her heart thumping at a rapid rate. "There exists such magic? How do we fight against someone who can see our actions before they even happen?" she thought.

Tsubaki took in a sharp breath and held it in for a few moments. She released her air and spoke. "What amount of mystical apparatus do you have access to that allowed him to see that far ahead? There is no being short of a God capable of seeing more than a few moments ahead in time without outside aid."

"That is... I'm not allowed to tell you. I'm sorry, but I think I've told enough," Typhoon replied.

"I don't think you have. If this is all part of the Lich's vision, then who is to say you elaborating a little isn't part of it?" Tsubaki retorted with a smug grin, hoping to manipulate the Wani just enough for her to not realize it, but also enough to pry what they needed out of her.

"You do have a point. He never really goes into full detail with his visions when asked about them. He only talks about them with Titan, the Captain, and a few others. Even then, he's cryptic and indirect with how he explains them. He says knowing how fate strings along is a dangerous thing if word gets out. He may have well forseen this too," Typhoon responded, twirling her finger through her desk of water. Despite its physical shape, the table swirled in the same way a beverage would had a straw stirred it up. "That being said, I still don't feel safe talking about your question concerning the apparatus."

"Captain? You mean the Lich **isn't** your leader?" Momo asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes, that's correct. He's lingering around the group at the central plaza. His role there is to take care of Grayfia so Titan can reliably subdue the Dragon of Supremacy," Typhoon answered, her voice now sounding a little calmer.

This composure was something Tsubaki couldn't allow if they were to get answers from Typhoon.

"Do you honestly think your so-called Captain can even ward off Lucifuge? She overshadowed the Lich, who is already a considerably powerful being," Tsubaki asked with doubt and hubris, expecting to catch the Wani on a bluff.

"I have full faith in Archmage's vision and even more so in Captain's ability," Typhoon answered, unfazed by Tsubaki's confidence as she spoke.

This earned a grunt from the bespectacled Queen. For such a meek being, Typhoon's rigid confidence could only mean she was speaking truthfully. But just how much more capable was this "Captain?"

* * *

 **Kuoh Skies, 3:00 AM**

Rias took Asia and Issei to the belly of Kuoh to begin scouting for their human friends. The dim night sky shrouded the three Devils, allowing them to monitor undetected. Rias led the way while Issei followed close by, a worried Asia staying close to his side as they flew.

* * *

Issei, in spite of with the lingering venom of anxiety draining his spirit and derailing his mind, quickened his pace to meet equally with Rias. "How are we gonna to find them? Should we go search that old buildin' they holed themselves up in?" he asked.

Rias turned towards her Pawn. Though his gaze attempted to remain stoic, the worried undertones of Issei's eyes weighed heavily on her. "Our observation spells aren't responding; they know we know their hideout. I don't think they would be foolish enough to retreat there," she said.

Issei's heart sank just a little more. "What is our plan then? Just fly around and hope we find them?"

"Not at all. When I said everyone was scouting the town, I forgot to mention that me and Sona divided our Peerages up to comb through different sections of the town in order to maximize the amount of ground we cover. The only place I think they haven't covered is the central plaza," Rias answered.

"So we're heading that way then?" Issei asked. Though his heart weighed heavy, the fact that there was direction to their method gave him some form of assurance. He looked onward towards the town, towards the direction of the central plaza.

Asia, not wanting to be left behind and suffering from the same venomous anxiety, pulled herself up towards Issei and held onto his arm as to not be left behind again. "What are you guys talking about? Do we know where they are yet?"

"No, but we have a hunch of where they are. And when we find them, we're gonna make sure they'll regret ever bein' mercenaries in the first place," Issei answered, his strong will shining through his worry.

A smile formed on Asia's face and she tightly hugged Issei's arm.

"Quarta to President! Quarta to President! Me, Meguri, and Kiba found the Okuri-Inu! He has gravely injured Kiba and we are on the run!" Xenovia's voice spoke from over Rias's communication link.

"Xenovia!? Don't worry, we're on the way!" Rias responded with haste.

Before Rias could even turn South, towards Xenovia's division, another voice spoke through the communications link.

"President, we have the Werewolf on the run. Yura stood back to fight the wielder of Strike Stockpile. Be wary, they are not bunched up like we thought," Akeno's voice spoke. Her speech sounded labored and weak, adding onto Rias's worry.

"Akeno..." Issei said hushedly. His heart felt heavy, this time with pure fear.

"Hold on Akeno! Someone will be on their way!" Rias spoke with the same hastened manner as before. She turned towards Issei and Asia and spoke. "We're going to need to split up. I'll head over to help Xenovia's group while you and Asia will go and help Akeno's group down towards the woods around-"

"Sona to Rias. Me, Saji, and Nimura found the bearers of the two Faceless Mask Longinus. Nimura is fending off a horde of the shambling dead, Saji is stuck fighting both of them, and I'm trapped in my barrier by a hand of shadow. We need assistance ASAP," Sona's voice interrupted.

"Wait, shambling dead? You mean as in zombies?"" Issei inquired with a quake in his voice.

"They've got everyone… what do we do?" Asia said weakly. Her smile vanished and she held her hands close to her chest. "Please God, don't let this happen. I know you're dead, but don't let them take my friends," she whispered. A ringing in her ears disoriented her briefly.

"Hold on Sona, I'll send someone your way! In the meantime, try to call upon Tsubaki's group!" Rias once again answered hurriedly.

"I've already tried. They aren't responding. The enemy has either jammed our communications or done them in," Sona refuted.

"Damn..." Rias muttered. She turned her attention back towards Issei and Asia. "Asia, you need to head down to Kuoh Park and tend to Tsubaki's group. They may still be able to be saved. Issei, you need to head down to Xenovia's group and help them with the Okuri-Inu. I'll go help Sona's group."

* * *

"That will nary beon necessary, Heiress of the Gremory Clan," a light male voice spoke over the communications link. The dialect froze the three Devils stiff; Archmage had somehow permeated their link. How long had he been listening? How did he do it in the first place? Is his understanding of magic so great he can just hop into a link whenever he desires?

"You son of a bitch!" Issei shouted. The mere sound of the Lich's voice made his blood boil. He grit his teeth and failed to restrain a rolling growl.

"There beon nary a merit to such vulgarity, Gent Issei Hyoudou. Thy Devil companions earon nary imperiled; they earon merely being preoccupied. Thy human friends earon thy foremost concern," Archmage spoke over the link.

"Don't you fuckin' touch them Skeletor!" Issei shouted once again. His temper worsened the longer the Lich spoke.

"Hyoudou, steel your nerves..." Ddraig warned.

"We await thee by the central plaza's fountain. Most unfortunately, I could nary maketh this confrontation a meaningful one by having us combat where thy journey through the supernatural began, Gent Issei Hyoudou. I would've held the climax of the performance at the park's fountain, but I doth suppose this fountain will make do. Fear nary of waking the town, I hast entranced the denizens in a deep, deep slumber. Doth feel free to give it thy all," Archmage spoke.

"Then your sleep magic must really suck if we woke up!" Issei barked at the Lich.

"That is untrue, kinder. There was a scrawny, pale man present who shot at us with an archaic waffe before Archmage could completely render Sie Teufel—you Devils—no longer a hinderance. He chased us down and even got in a few hits, but he was eventually subdued. Quite a valiant man. Ruhe gut bin der Gottes Armen," the voice of Titan spoke over the communication link.

"Holy shit… Ryuu, your sacrifice will not be in vain," Issei thought. Though he wasn't on good terms with the man, it was because of Ryuusuke they had this chance to fight back. With his heart and blood on fire, Issei wasted no time in thoughtlessly flying towards their location. He summoned forth Boosted Gear and began boosting his power as he flew. Somewhere along the way, he activated the countdown timer on his Scale Mail.

"Ise! Stop! This has to be a trap! We need to go and help the others then come back and finish them off!" Rias shouted to her Pawn.

Issei didn't even slow in his advance towards the central plaza's fountain. He was too filled with rage to let reason reach his mind.

"Damn it… I'm sorry everyone," Rias muttered before flying after Issei. The others would have to wait for their aid.

Asia, not wanting to be left alone in this hectic mess, followed behind her King.

* * *

 **Kuoh Central Plaza-Fountain, 3:10 AM**

Issei touched down upon the stone path surrounding the fountain, Rias and Asia soon following suit. The area was large, flattened, and plain, only bearing an entourage of decorative pillars lining the edges of the stone path. Buildings stood outside of the stone path, all of their lights shut off. Not a creature could be heard or seen in this otherwise busy part of town. Before them, in front of the fountain, stood Archmage.

To the Lich's left, Harvest hopped about as giddy as could be as she twirled her twin-scythe around frenetically. She hummed a tune before setting her gaze upon the Devils. Her twin-scythe twirled around as she got into a combat-ready stance with a youthful giggle.

The Grim Reaper's giggle chilled Asia. The moonlight revealed the woman's white skull mask. The details of the painted skull and the wide-open maw depicted only caused a colder wave to sweep over Asia. She stood behind Issei and Rias, blocking her from the woman's gaze.

Before the Lich stood Hybrid with its back turned to the three Devils. It seemed to take note of Harvest's focus and turned to where she gazed before it, too, prepared for combat. Its arms turned into a pair of wings bearing sharp, metallic feathers of a silver hue.

Though its eyes were obscured, Rias knew the creature had eyes honed on her. She had nearly obliterated the thing previously, it would only be natural for it to hold a vendetta against her. She held a hand behind her back, a magic circle appearing in it. It glowed a bright red before shattering. A wave of relief washed over her as she did so.

To the Lich's right was Titan. The gargantuan man held in his arms the entire Kasai family, still and silent as their bodies dangled. Ryuusuke, however, was not among those hanging from his arms. Before him, planted firmly into the ground, were his maces: the golden, blunt-flanged mace to his left and the tri-faced, sharp-flanged mace to his right.

* * *

Issei's eyes caught a look at the family. He let out a rolling growl before Scale Mail deployed itself. "Let them go before I make you wish you killed us in our sleep," Issei growled, clenching both his fists and his teeth. His muscles tensed themselves, slightly expanding his armor.

"Now that I think of it, why didn't they take that chance instead of putting everyone else in a slumber?" Ddraig asked, not expecting a rational answer from his partner.

"Die auftrag—the mission—must come first, Drachen. We planned deal with you later, but der kinder are a persistent bunch and your pale friend only made the task much more difficult," Titan answered with a stoic voice.

"So now you're manning up to fight?" Rias asked with a smugness that seemed odd given the situation.

"Cut it with the confidence, red-head," Hybrid retorted with a monotone voice.

"You want another taste of the Gremory's Power of Destruction? You seemed to like it last time," Rias rebounded, a confident smirk appearing on her face.

Asia looked up to Rias and took note of her sure demeanor. She felt a warm comfort, burning confidence, and, most importantly, a radiant hope.

"This confidence… it shows thou hast summoned the maiden Grayfia, doth I not speak the truth?" Archmage asked, placing his hands behind his back.

Rias only nodded.

"Most well then, I hope to-" Archmage spoke, going silent for seemingly no reason mid-sentence.

A magic circle appeared by Rias's side before it glowed with an intense light. A form manifested within the light before stepping out. The long, braided, silver hair of the figure along with the distinct maid attire and overwhelming presence belonged to none other than Grayfia Lucifuge.

Any doubt in Asia's mind was blotted out with the silver-haired maid's entrance. Those fuzzy emotions Rias imposed upon her were heightened. She stepped out from behind her King and stood by her side with confidence and a tough face.

Though the very sight of their enemy enraged Issei to no end, the presence of Grayfia helped to lift the veil of tension he had felt earlier. Now that she was here, there was no way he could see them losing this.

"Ah, so you found them just in time. Very well then, I shall handle it from here," Grayfia said. She walked out to the front lines and passed by Issei. Her red eyes honed onto Archmage. "It's such a shame a rare existence such as yours has to be punished with eternal entombment within Limbo. Had the story been different, you and your band of ruffians would've been powerful allies." She stopped before the four, hands clasped together at her waist.

The four seemed unfazed by her presence. Archmage stood adamantly, hands still held together behind his back. Titan continued holding the Kasai's, not even attempting to reach for his maces. Hybrid merely crossed its winged arms like a cloak of lustrous feathers hanging before it as if asking for her to strike. Harvest even seemed to let out a silent giggle judging from the repeated rising and falling of her shoulders.

"Thy ego shalt beon thy folly, Lucifuge..." Archmage spoke with an unwavering tone. He outstretched his arms from behind his back and looked to the sky. "Captain! I beseech thee! Aid us against this most mighty opponent so that we may fulfill our task!"

"Captain?" Rias asked, her smug smile wavering for a brief moment. In none of their reports or observations had there even been hinted that there was another member.

"Captain?" Ddraig repeated. Though the thought of something stronger than Archmage felt a little disheartening, he couldn't help but feel anticipation to see what this "Captain" was.

"Captain?" Grayfia asked with a raised brow and curious tone.

"It doesn't matter if you summon your leader! We'll kick his ass just as bad as yours!" Issei barked.

* * *

Once those words slipped past Issei's lips, an overbearing presence fell upon the plaza. A dense energy capable of blotting out even Archmage's incredible magical aura constricted all but Grayfia, whose shoulders merely rose in surprise. The air became still and cold as the young Devils ceased their breathing for a brief moment. Their hearts pounded in their ears loud enough to drown out their thoughts.

"You shouldn't have said that, Dragon Man," Harvest sung in a cheery, yet at the same time eerie tone.

Before the Devils could even blink, a figure descended from above and landed, half-slouched, before Grayfia without kicking up even a small puff of dust from its descent. Though the figure was slouched, it stood level with Grayfia's chin. The figure straightened itself out, towering over Grayfia while standing roughly equal to Ripper's height. Its form was broad, but wasn't as bulky as Titan's. Its black cloak seemed more pristine than its underlings' and gave off a slight shine as if made from silk. This was their trump card: their Captain.

"Interesting, I hadn't expected you to actually deliver on that promise," Grayfia remarked, looking up at the figure's face. Without an iota of fear in her heart, she dropped her prim posture and lept up to deliver a swift, spinning kick to the Captain's head.

It ducked the kick with blinding speeds before retaliating with a fist against Grayfia's midsection.

Grayfia was sent flying back as if struck by a mountain, passing by her comrades as she did so. A shockwave erupted from where the punch struck, pushing away any stone and dirt nearby the Captain's feet. Grayfia recovered her footing by planting her feet firmly into the ground, scarring the earth as she slowed her launch to a grinding halt.

"Hmmm. This might be more of a problem than I thought," Grayfia said, her complacent gaze now turned into a piercing glare. Her own power flooded from her body and conflicted with the Captain's.

The Captain obliged and followed through with her challenge of dominance. Its own power flooded from it in reciprocation.

Winds swirled around the two as they gauged each other. The air currents tossed about large stones and various debris while shaking about the surroundings and rumbling the earth beneath them. The display of power buffeted both sides, causing even their most adamant fighters to brace themselves against the near-unbearable winds and quaking ground. They walked towards each other at a menacingly slow pace until they once again stood face to face and within arm's reach.

The Captain's energy felt fiery and overwhelmingly chaotic, like an active volcano primed to erupt and devastate any and all nearby.

Not to be outmatched, Grayfia's energy excelled with a menacing and cold air comparable to an iceberg on course to crash and grind everything in its path to dust.

These two powerful entities stared each other down, their energy continuing to climb and their influence on the nearby area intensifying as they conflicted for dominance.

The winds ceased, the earth settled, and their overwhelming auras died down.

"Yes, much more of a problem. I apologize, but I can't fight this one with you around," Grayfia said, her stern gaze staring down her adversary.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked, taking a step back.

"What I mean is that I'll have to actually try when fighting this one. If I do that, I risk harming you and your underlings. You will have to fend for yourselves until I am through with this Captain of theirs," Grayfia answered.

"Are you serious!? You can't just leave us here to fight these guys!" Rias refuted.

"Calm yourself. You have the Red Dragon Emperor on your side. You should at least be able to fend them off now that Hyoudou can use his Boosted Gear. Just trust in your underlings and you should be fine until I get back. Remember their strengths and exploit any enemy weaknesses you know of," Grayfia spoke softly, yet sternly.

Rias took another step back, not daring to argue with or defy her sister-in-law's words any further.

* * *

"She's got a point! You rejected circus acts may have fought me before, but ya haven't faced me at my best yet! I'm gonna personally show ya why you don't mess with Prez or the Kasais when I'm around!" Issei shouted before flying at the group with burning valor.

"Boost!"

The Captain raised an arm towards Issei, its hand in a flicking posture.

Grayfia pushed the Captain's arm to the side just as it flicked its fingers. A small but mighty shockwave erupted from its fingers that pierced into a nearby decorative stone pillar roughly the height of an average man, completely blowing apart the top half of the structure.

The Captain's display of sheer might lingered in Rias's mind even after the shockwave had ceased. Her attention turned to the crumbled stone and the damaged pillar it stood before. "Wait a minute… is that…" she thought, dazed by the technique. She shook her head and snapped herself from her trance. "No, don't be silly. That couldn't be him."

"Boost!"

"Your fight is with me. Leave them to their own devices," Grayfia barked with a sharp tone as Issei flew by her and the Captain on a mission to mow down the one mercenary holding his friends: the Germanic Titan.

She delivered a mighty punch to the Captain's gut that sent the creature flying into the night sky before sprouting her wings and giving chase, leaving the three to fight against their friends' captors while she took on the biggest threat.

"Boost!"

Titan dropped the humans from his arms and reached for his maces, the humans then being put into a shining barrier that floated towards Archmage. He managed to grasp the golden mace with his left hand, but was sent flying by Issei's fist crashing into his face just before he could wrap the fingers of his right hand around the three-faced mace.

A gut impulse forced Issei to promote himself to a Knight and lunge back. As he did so, the curved blade of a scythe came down from above and grazed him.

The double-scythe of Harvest kept going and got stuck in the ground.

"Blade!"

Ascalon protruded from Scale Mail's right gauntlet as Issei dove right back in, going for Harvest with a mighty roar. His blade aimed true for the Grim Reaper's head.

A metal shard in the shape of a feather flew by and struck Ascalon, knocking Issei's plunge off course and causing him to miss his opportunity.

He turned to look behind him for a brief moment to see Hybrid rushing towards him, the moonlight reflecting off of its metallic, winged arms. It jumped up into the air and prepared to bring its sharp wings down upon Issei.

Issei dove towards the advancing Hybrid, sliding underneath it as the creature crashed down and dug its wings into the ground.

"Boost!"

Before Issei could even take advantage of this, Harvest floatily swerved around Hybrid and twirled a horizontal, circular slash at Issei.

Issei had to take another leap back lest he bear a deep gash in his torso.

"Boost!"

A surge of menacing demonic energy erupted from behind Issei, causing him to turn to look behind him.

There stood Rias, once again charging up her specialty: Extinguished Star.

Issei knew what he had to do.

* * *

Thunderous footsteps barreled and seemed to come ever so closer with each step, causing him to turn back towards his opposition. He was met with the background sight of the massive Germanic Titan rushing towards his three-faced mace, his golden mace still in hand.

Issei's opportunity arrived just as he needed it. He rushed forwards, gliding underneath another slash from Harvest and running past her.

"Boost!"

Hybrid spewed out a plume of intense, white flames directed at Issei.

Though the fire scorched his nerves with an intense, searing pain and gave a burning pain to his eyes, Scale Mail protected him from the actual damage as he forced himself through the inferno. He grabbed the hilt of the three-faced mace with his left hand before Titan could even get close to it.

Merely touching the hilt of the weapon flooded Issei's senses with voices from around him. Though indecipherable at first, they quickly tuned and refined themselves into something conceivable.

"He's got a hold of meine waffe; keep your thoughts on lock-down. Forget the Gremory and retrieve die waffe," Titan announced with his thundering voice.

"Wait, what?" Issei thought.

"How is that not burning his hand? Isn't he supposed to be a Devil?" the voice of Harvest spoke in his head, but with an echo as if she had spoken from within a cave.

Issei pieced it together almost immediately. "So that's how he was able to read minds…" he thought as he looked down at the three-faced mace, it's glowing details and evil appearance making his body shudder.

"Attack coming from behind. Assailant: Exitia. Trajectory: Downwards. Solution: Dodge left or right," a light-toned voice spoke, clear as day, with the briefness of a fleeting thought.

Issei immediately dodged to the left, evading another downward slash from Harvest. The three-faced mace dragged him down and barely budged from its location as he did so.

"Boost!"

"Several projectiles coming from the left. Assailant: X. Trajectories: All straight with no discernable arc. Solution: Assume a moderate limbo position," the same, light-toned voice spoke into Issei's ear.

So Issei followed the weapon's orders. He bent over backwards and perfectly weaved through a volley of metallic feathers from Hybrid.

"This thing kicks ass!" Issei shouted with an energetic vibe as he pulled himself back upright. He twirled the mace around with one hand, batting away Harvest in the process, and mounted the weapon on his left shoulder while donning Ascalon with his right arm.

The weapon had to be at least as long as he was tall, being almost cartoonishly disproportionate as he brandished the oversized beat-stick. His shoulder and legs quickly began to quake and quiver under the weight of the three-faced mace and the weapon crashed back into the ground behind the Devil, pulling Issei's left arm up with it.

Even with seven boosts to his power, Issei was still unable to adequately wield the weapon. "What's with this thing's weight?" he asked, grunting as he attempted to haul the weapon back onto his shoulder.

"Amazing distraction Ise. I can always count on you," Rias voice spoke in his head with a cave-like echo.

Issei's face burnt up before turning towards where Rias was. The moment he set eyes upon her, she let loose her Extinguished Star. The red orb of sheer destructive energy barreled right towards Hybrid.

A rift opened before Hybrid and completely engulfed Rias's attack. The crimson orb slowly faded into the black as it entered the empty void.

"There shalt beon none of those shenanigans this time, Lady Rias Gremory," Archmage spoke. The Devils made the foolish mistake of thinking Archmage would sit idly by this time with the objective of the mission on the line. Things were only going to get tougher depending on just how much the Lich wished to intervene.

Oddly enough, the mace had not warned Issei of the spell. Was there a limit to what the mace could detect, or was Archmage simply capable of bypassing the weapon's detection ability?

"As for thou..." Archamage said, casually raising a hand towards Issei.

A rift opened before Issei and in it, a glowing red orb heading its way towards him at full speed. Once again, no accompanying warning or method of evasion was provided by the weapon. He barely had any time to react, so he was forced, by instinct, to ditch the three-faced mace and take to the skies.

Rias's Extinguished Star zoomed out from the rift before being engulfed by another one that opened up in the orb's path.

"Shit!" Issei thought, looking back down at the mace. He wasn't even aware, but Titan had been standing next to him when he let go of the weapon.

Titan grasped the hilt of his evil-looking mace and raised it up with little effort. He turned his head up towards Issei. "Great utilization and quick-thinking, but you lack what truly matters to hold this waffe."

Out of the corner of Issei's eyes, he could see Hybrid dashing up to Rias.

Rias raised her arms and released a barrage of demonic energy bullets from her fingertips.

Hybrid raised its metallic wings up in front of its body. The attacks battered and chipped away at its wings, but it was unharmed by the attack. The metallic feathers quickly grew back with a polished sheen, just as sharp as before. It kept rushing towards Rias.

Issei gave chase after Hybrid on a course to intercept it.

Harvest followed behind Issei, most likely to intercept his interception.

Issei stopped on a dime and, before the Grim Reaper could even halt her advance, delivered a punch to her head. The clang of Dragon scale against metal could be heard as his armored fist struck Harvest's mask. The girl was sent careening towards Archmage while Issei resumed chasing down Hybrid.

"Ise, look out!" Rias shouted.

What Issei didn't realize was that, while he was briefly distracted by Harvest, Hybrid decided to switch targets. It flew towards him at high speed as its left arm turned into a spikey, monstrous form about ten times the size of its standard arm. Arm bulging with bountiful muscle and adorned with sharp blades, Hybrid swung at Issei and delivered a thunderous punch.

Issei was almost instantly sent straight down into the ground with a loud crash. The stone path around him caved and shattered, forming a small crater from the impact.

Issei attempted to rise from the crater, but the strike made every movement of his body sting with immense pain. He fell back, collapsing to the ground.

"Stay down," Hybrid spat with a disinterested tone, its disproportionate arm stretching well below the creature's feet when relaxed.

Red, magical ropes tied around Hybrid and restrained it. The crimson braids led to Rias, magic circles around her expelling the bonds.

While Hybrid was restrained and Harvest was recovering from being struck, Asia rushed over to Issei's side and placed her hands on his chest. Her hands glowed a bright, green light as she activated her Twilight Healing.

Jagged rocks erupted from around the two. Blue electricity sparked from the earthen hazards, threatening to electrocute Asia if she continued.

"Don't worry, I won't let this stop me. You and Rias have to finish this fight," she said. She continued healing her downed ally in spite of the electricity shocking her and scorching her skin. She struggled to restrain a cry of pain as she kept her hands placed on Issei.

"A most valiant spirit. Fitting for a daughter of the Faith. Allow us seeth how long thee shalt hold on," Archmage tested.

The electricity continued to zap and burn her body, sometimes even feeling like it was getting stronger. Through grunts and whimpers, Asia held on.

* * *

"Stop this right now!" Rias shouted with a rage rarely seen from her. An immense energy erupted from her, blotting out the presences of all but the Lich. A magic circle appeared above her facing towards the Lich. As it glowed a crimson-red light, demonic energy gathered into a large, dewy, blood-like drop and floated before the circle. With a thrust of both of her arms and a savage screech, Rias sent out a large, red laser aiming straight for Archmage. The might and intensity of the attack threatened to annihilate the entire division of mercenaries.

It clipped off the monstrous arm of Hybrid just as it broke through the magic ropes binding it in place, forcing it to retreat back to its allies. Had it not forced its way through, the laser would've cleared away its head.

Titan ducked under the laser, it nicking the top portion of its hood and vaporizing it almost immediately.

Harvest wasted no time weaving out of the laser's path. She was still reeling from the pain of Issei's attack, so it was unlikely she wanted to feel any more pain.

A magic circle appeared before Archmage. It glowed a vivid blue as magical energy gathered in the center. He raised his right arm and placed it before the circle. A large, blue laser shot from the circle.

The two collided midway, creating a loud boom and powerful shockwave from the collision point. The lasers kicked up mighty winds that pushed around and battered the surroundings.

Rias screamed her heart out in burning fury, pouring more and more of her demonic energy into her attack.

Archmage walked forward, the circle being pushed onwards as he walked with a stoic silence.

Rias poured more ire into her attack, overwhelming Archmage's retaliation as her laser engulfed the blue laser.

Archmage halted his approached briefly and, with a thrust of his right hand, empowered his laser to equalize the playing field. The Lich continued walking towards the red-haired heiress.

Even with all of the rage put into the attack, the Lich's taunting stride towards Rias showed that the effort was, overall, fruitless. His magic just seemed too strong for the young Devil to overcome by herself.

"Boost!"

Issei rose up and forced away the stone spikes from him and Asia. He retracted Ascalon rushed to Rias's side.

Behind him, Asia collapsed from the pain brought on by the blue electricity and was rendered unconscious.

Once by his King's side, Issei placed a hand upon her back.

"Transfer!"

All of Issei's stored power flowed into Rias. With one more push and a primal yell, Rias forced more energy into her attack and broke through Archmage's laser.

Archmage placed his hands before him and erected a barrier.

It was futile: the laser pierced through his barrier and struck him head-on.

A massive explosion erupted and engulfed almost the entire fountain area. Windows of nearby buildings shattered and lampposts were uprooted entirely. In the wake of the blast remained nothing but a crater of obliterated earth, destroyed stone, and bone dust. They had done it; they had taken down the Lich...

Issei knelt down and panted. "That worked? Is he actually dead, like for real?"

Rias, too knelt down, panting as her vision became blurry. "Thank you Ise... you did well today."

But what of the others?

* * *

"Bravo, bravo, kinder! You managed to destroy Archmage's body! Very few manage to even touch him," Titan applauded, dropping his maces to the ground and giving loud, meaty applause. The burnt off section of his hood gave only provided a glimpse at a head of shortly-cut blonde hair.

"What's with the clappin'!? We fuckin' dusted him! Don't be playin' it off like we only inconvenienced you!" Issei barked back. He stood up, ready to fight once more. "Come on, you and me Schwarzenegger!"

"Kind, do you honestly think you can take me in the state you are now?" Titan asked.

"Why don't ya ask your mace that? See what it thinks!" Issei snapped back.

Like so, Titan grabbed his three-faced mace's hilt. He let out a sigh. "Really, kind? At least try to be dignified in defeat."

Issei chuckled. "Grayfia should be back anytime now. When she does, you guys are fucked. You've got no way of teleporting away and soon no Captain to get you outta this mess."

"Boost!"

"Then I suggest we get this over with," Titan spoke. He picked up his maces. "Hybrid. Harvest. Stand back and let me take it from here."

"You... stay away... from him," Rias struggled as fatigue hindered her. She had consumed too much energy to be of any use in a fight, so she collapsed. She was down, but not out just yet. She watched their confrontation from the most ground-level of views.

"Boost!"

Titan didn't acknowledge Rias's demand, he only walked towards Issei. "Stahl dich, Rot Drachen Kaiser!" Titan charged towards Issei, his every footstep like a rolling storm as he crossed his arms across his body in a manner that had his maces trail behind him.

* * *

 **Kuoh Park, 3:40 AM**

As this battle raged on throughout the town, Sona's Queen and Bishops continued to converse with the meek Wani. Reaching in any way they could to get vital information out of her without prompting her to fight, Reya and Momo prodded carefully and with kindness while Tsubaki took a more dominating and intimidation-heavy approach.

* * *

"You mentioned something about a Dragon of Supremacy. What exactly is that and why does it merit such a careful approach from your group?" Momo asked.

"You know how the Boosted Gear holds The Red Dragon of Domination?" Typhoon asked.

"Yes. What of it?" asked Tsubaki with stern eyes.

"Well, the Dragon of Supremacy is basically Ddraig releasing his restraints and flooding the wielder of Boosted Gear with his own power. Archmage described it as this: a daunting transformation brought on when in a state of great distress that strips Boosted Gear's wielder of all rationality and turns him or her into a walking catastrophe. If left unchecked, it could destroy entire countries and kill the user," Typhoon answered.

The three Devils fell silent as a chill gripped their blood and bones. Something capable of destroying **countries** if left unchecked? How would they even begin to defend against something like that? Why were the mercenaries even risking waking something like that in the first place? More importantly, could these mercenaries even hold their claim and suppress such a beast if it were to be unleashed?

"And you're risking this awakening for a run-of-the-mill mark!? Are you all mad!?" Tsubaki shouted, just barely able to restrain her rapidly elevating aggression enough to not lash out violently.

Typhoon's body flinched and she let out a soft yelp in response to Tsubaki's yelling. "W-When one's life is on the line, anything tends to be fair game if it means survival. I'm sorry, but that is a truth of life-" Typhoon responded with a soft voice and sunken posture.

"Not when it comes to the lives of **tens of** **thousands** of innocent people! You lot are just a bunch of selfish rats if you truly believe any of this is justifiable! You all deserve to be locked up in Cocytus's frigid dimension for even attempting something like this!" Tsubaki went off, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. The woman's self-serving rationalization only served to further weaken Tsubaki's restraint.

"Just… listen for a-" Typhoon began.

Tsubaki snapped. Not wanting to hear anymore from the woman, she fired off a sphere of demonic energy aimed at Typhoon, not even giving her a chance to finish her thought.

A wall of thick ice rose up between Typhoon and the sphere. The ball of energy exploded against the wall, only barely thawing a quarter of the way through the wall.

"Please… there's more to this than-" Typhoon attempted to speak once again.

"No! We're ending this right now!" Tsubaki shouted as she threw eight more orbs of demonic energy out towards the Wani.

The ice wall shattered itself into eight chunks and hurled themselves towards the orbs.

With each collision between ice and energy, an explosion sent shards of ice in every direction. The ground and nearby trees were decorated in the crystalline fragments, creating a shimmering terrain that twinkled like the night sky.

The Wani's eyes seemed to narrow. That serene aqua blue in her eyes now appeared as dispiriting as the bleak void of the oceanic depths. She slammed a hand against her water table, making a splash instead of a crash. From this act of agitation, a brief wave of strong wind dispersed across the locale like a mighty maelstrom. "Just let me explain! There's more to this than you think!"

Strong gusts formed around Tsubaki before rising into a sort of miniature tornado, pushing Momo and Reya away from their ally. Isolated within the eye of the storm, Tsubaki was forced to hold her ground lest she be tossed around within the gales like a plastic bag. The shards of ice adorning the location immediately kicked up into a frigid flurry as a result of the mighty windstorm, trapping Tsubaki in a localized blizzard. A freezing sensation sliced into her limbs and torso like a knife through butter as the shards grazed by, promptly dying the blizzard with a crimson tint.

"Shinra!" Reya shouted to her ally. Through the storm, she could see blood dripping from the Queen's legs, arms, and chest.

The blizzard settled as quickly as it had begun. Typhoon got up from her watery table and ran over to Tsubaki, her hands held up to her face and that angered glare now flipped to worry. "I'm so sorry! I only wanted to intimidate you so you'd stop attacking me! I didn't want to cut you!"

"Just say what you have to say," Tsubaki said with a sharp tone of voice as Reya helped keep her up back on her feet.

Her tone stopped Typhoon in her tracks. She clasped her hands together before her chest. "Just let me heal you at least."

Water rose up from the ground around Tsubaki.

"Don't you even…" Tsubaki warned despite being unable to stop the Wani if she so decided to do anything.

The water wrapped around her body and engulfed it, leaving only her head exposed. The water was a perfect balance of hot and cold, feeling nothing short of heavenly. With little time, the wounds on her body began sealing up and the wooziness of blood-loss faded. Once the waters had done their job, they returned to the earth by sinking into the soil. Not even a drop of water was left on Tsubaki's skin, hair, or clothes.

Reya's mouth dropped at the display. Not only was Archmage capable of healing others, but so was Typhoon. Just how much was this creature holding away from them?

"The waters are known to purify and renew, which is why I'm considered the group's medic," Typhoon stated.

"What of the Lich? He seems capable of being a medic. He did heal everyone with those barrier spells," Reya pointed out.

"Archmage is a genius in the field of magic. It's only natural for him to have access to such magic. He's often too preoccupied with planning and observing to concern himself with mending wounds, however," Typhoon answered.

"Doesn't that seem a little unfair? You guys jumping around while he watches doesn't seem like good teamwork," Momo inquired.

"He's usually more hands on than he is with this mission. It all depends on his visions. Had he been more direct, this would've been over before you even met the Kasais," Typhoon answered.

Tsubaki's brow raised and her gaze sharpened. "Then why didn't he do so? If the mission would've been resolved before we even met, then there was no need for any of this."

Typhoon let out a yelp and turned to silence. Her eyes were held wide open.

"What are you hiding from us?" Tsubaki pressed.

* * *

Typhoon conjured up her water table and chair set once again, chancing once again for peaceful communication. "Here… take a seat. I should just get on with what I was trying to say before."

This time, the Devils obliged the Wani's offer and took a seat at the water table. Despite the chairs' aquatic compositions, they were somehow neither cold or wet.

"Now, I have to say I can't just tell you everything. In order for everything to go through smoothly, some information must be held from you," Typhoon spoke.

"You're taking away the lives of an innocent family on behalf of an exploitative Devil. What could possibly merit secrecy for such a horrendous act," Tsubaki asked with a sharp tone.

"This 'everything' I'm talking about goes beyond our mission. There is so much more to the story than what you know now, but is imperative for you not to know. What you can know, however, is that there are other forces at work here," Typhoon explained with hesitation and soft words.

"Then why are they needed? It's probably safe to assume these forces you speak of are supernatural, so why would a human family be needed?" Momo inquired.

Tsubaki stood up from her seat, pressed her hands onto the water table, and leaned herself on it. "Better yet, why do you need them when all you are going to do is kill them? Is there something special about their souls that you need?" she added.

"About that… We weren't really going to kill them. We just needed a lead on where they were, so we took this job," Typhoon answered with hesitation once more.

"Then what of the soul-binding contract? If you don't fulfill your end, your souls will be taken from you," Reya spoke.

"Oh that? We-Well. You see, it said that all we had to do was bring them to the contractor. It said nothing about killing them," Typhoon answered, getting shakier in voice the more she spoke.

"Tell us the truth..." Tsubaki urged, staring down the Wani with an unblinking gaze.

Typhoon remained silent. She looked down at the water table.

"Tell us!" Tsubaki shouted.

"There was no contract nor was there any Devil who issued it!" Typhoon shouted back.

The water table heated up as if in response to Typhoon's rising tension, scalding Tsubaki's hands and forcing her to pull back from the table. She shook her hands to fan off the heat.

"We just said that so you would think we had no other choice," Typhoon continued.

"Then how did you know they were here? How do you know about their history? What else are you lying about?" Tsubaki asked.

"Didn't the Kasais actually confirm the existence of a Devil contacting them? Are you meaning to tell us they are lying too?" Reya questioned with a hand resting against her cheek, index finger tapping the side of her head.

"Are you guys even mercenaries?" Momo prodded.

Typhoon fidgeted with her hands, staying silent as her refusal to answering the streaming series of questions being thrown at her.

"Come on… come on… crack already…" Tsubaki thought, her jaw clenched tightly behind her closed lips. She kept an unblinking eye on Typhoon, taking note of every nervous gesture and sign of weakness.

"I-uh...We..." Typhoon stammered. She went on with making half-baked statements with little to no logic behind each of them, all while stuttering profusely. With every attempt to construct a story, she made more holes in her explanations. She was on the ropes with nowhere to run, which was odd given her current league of power.

Typhoon gave up the façade in short time. She clasped her hands together and she let out a sigh. She took a deep inhale as if she was about to speak.

* * *

A slight, white glow surrounded Typhoon. It quickly intensified and almost entirely engulfed her being.

"Oh… thank goodness," Typhoon spoke hushedly. She stood up from her seat.

The three Devils sprang up from their positions and took a few steps back.

"Just wait: it will all make sense in due time, during the Summit," Typhoon said, the glow consuming her colors and completely obstructing her figure.

With that being said, Typhoon vanished in a flash of white light.

* * *

"Damn it. So close," Tsubaki thought.

"During the Summit… You think maybe one of the other Factions set them up to do this since they weren't hired by a Devil?" Momo asked.

"I don't think the Angels would try something this morally questionable. Maybe the Fallen?" Reya suggested.

"I don't think they'd try something so reckless just before the Summit," Momo answered.

"Just what are you planning?" Tsubaki thought.

* * *

 **Kuoh Woods, 3:40 AM**

Koneko and Akeno chase down Huntress through the woods. Though given a chance to catch and stop her from transforming, it would prove most difficult for the two to find a Werewolf in its natural habitat. As the wild goose chase commences, Tsubasa squares off against Swarmer in their second bout.

* * *

The trailing light of a golden fist flies towards Tsubasa's torso, prompting her to swerve to the side.

"Ya can't keep dodgin' forever. Even Devils tire out eventually," Swarmer said, twisting his torso and dragging another punch along with it.

Tsubasa tilted herself to the side and trapped Swarmer's arm under hers as his fist flew by. She delivered a punch aimed for his face.

Swarmer reeled his head back and bashed his forehead against Tsubasa's fist.

The impact put a deep pain in Tsubasa's knuckles, causing her to pull her arm back. She dragged Swarmer, by his trapped arm, to the side and tripped him over her leg.

Swarmer tumbled over onto his back, looking up in time to see Tsubasa reeling her other arm back to strike him while he was down. He rolled out of the way, causing Tsubasa to punch the ground.

"You said something about the Werewolf being a form of subspecies, right?" Tsubasa asked, raising her fist from the ground and getting back into a defensive stance.

"Yeah, I don't remember the exact name, but it's supposed to translate to Bloodhair," Swarmer answered, raising his fists back up.

"A Sanguispilus Werewolf?" Tsubasa spoke with an airy voice and widened eyes.

"Yeah, that's the name. Ya know 'em, the ones born under the direct light of a Blood Moon. Known to be one of the most physically overwhelmin' breeds o' Werewolf. Feckin' rare as a diamond too…" Swarmer answered, dashing in with his body tucked in. He stopped just before Tsubasa and, with his fists turned upwards, lunged upwards with a double uppercut.

Tsubasa somersaulted back to avoid the strike, the beautiful arc of golden light emanating from Strike Stockpile just barely missing her chin.

"They aren't the sharpest crayons on the cuttin' board though. Also, they be a pain in the arse to keep control of. They just kinda do their own gig when the time calls for it," Swarmer finished.

"Shit, you two better stop her transformation. We absolutely **need** silver or wolfsbane for her breed," Tsubasa thought as she prepared to defend against another assault.

"Come on, what happened to that ill set spunk ya was showin' off just a moment ago?" Swarmer taunted, outstretching his arms as if welcoming his opponent to try and hit him. "What's with all this turtlin' shite?"

"You're fighting with your Sacred Gear. For someone who's about not relying on powers to do his job, you sure seem to like using that as a crutch in a fight against an academy student of all things," Tsubasa retorted.

Swarmer's body jolted. The light from his Sacred Gear revealed a mouth of forcefully grit teeth. "Oh, you bitch! I'll show ya who needs powers when your batty arse is draggin' yourself to the nearest E.R. in Hell!" Swarmer shouted, dissipating his Strike stockpile before rushing towards Tsubasa in his usual arms-tucked-under-body posture.

Tsubasa prepared to guard from below. She smirked as he approached her.

Swarmer swerved to Tsubasa's right and delivered a swing to her upper arm.

The strike hit directly, but it didn't hurt as much as it would had he struck her with Strike Stockpile.

Tsubasa toughed through the pain and stood her ground before retaliating with an outstretched left arm. She hooked Swarmer's neck with her arm and caused him to crash into the ground.

Swarmer attempted to get up only to receive a foot pressing down upon his throat.

"Got a little reckless there, didn't you?" Tsubasa taunted.

"You be a dirty little bimbo, aren't ya?" Swarmer asked.

"Who said I was going to fight clean? You've got quite a fragile pride: fitting for someone who runs his mouth nonstop," Tsubasa retorted.

"So we be fighting dirty now… Grand," Swarmer said with an off-putting sureness.

Before Tsubasa could react to his words, her eyes, nose, and throat were assaulted by a sudden cloud of dirt. She was forced to pull away from the man.

The feeling of a calloused fist struck against her cheek before being followed by another to her chin. She could feel her teeth crack as her jaw was forced upwards from the second hit. She sprouted her wings and took to the air.

Once vision returned to her, Tsubasa looked down to see the man standing below her with outstretched arms.

"Mon well! Ya wanted to fight dirty, so I fought dirty! Get shagged by a rabid mongrel!" Swarmer shouted to the airborne Devil.

* * *

Suddenly, two figures flew out of the woods and tumbled around on the ground. The flowing black hair and short white hair proved to Tsubasa that the two sent flying were Akeno and Koneko.

"Himejima! Toujou!" Tsubasa shouted to her allies.

Koneko laboriously pulled herself from the ground. Her face was caked in dirt. "We couldn't find her in time!" she shouted.

"Damn it…" Tsubasa muttered.

From the woods, towering over every other grounded individual as it walked on its hind legs, approached a massive beast bearing blood-red fur: Huntress had successfully transformed.

"You had your chance, and you mucked it up. You let her transform even after I let ya chase her down," Swarmer spoke with a disappointed tone.

Huntress let loose a snarl directed towards her ally.

"Yeah, I let 'em tail ya! Whatcha gonna do about it!?" Swarmer barked back at his ally.

Now, with Huntress transformed and two servants of Rias at the mercy of the two mercenaries, Tsubasa had no other choice but to stay and fight in this uphill battle. She touched down upon the ground, knowing she can do no good hiding up in the sky.

"All that aside, it was a good fight doll. You got me all worked up and kicked my shite in for it," Swarmer said with a solemn tone before turning towards Tsubasa, fists raised up once again.

Huntress got down on all fours and began approaching Akeno and Koneko in a menacingly slow fashion, sizing them up and seemingly reveling in the awe directed at her.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears twitched and turned towards a shady clearing in the woods. She turned her body in the same direction and growled.

The rumbling of something heavy and mechanical could be heard in the woods. A mild tremble could be felt in the ground.

"What is that?" Tsubasa asked hushedly.

"Ya mean you don't know what that is?" Swarmer said with a worried tone. He turned towards the source of the noise and summoned forth his Strike Stockpile, the gauntlets still brimming with the golden light of stored power.

As the noise got closer and more intense, everyone in the clearing tensed up in anticipation indiscriminate of allegiance. The rumbling noise got more overpowering, the trembling ground got slightly more intense.

* * *

Bursting out of the shadows came a massive green locomotive fixed with a large tube sitting upon the top pointing onward like the lance of a charging knight. It was clad in heavy looking metal plates and moved on rolling treads that pressed its march into the earth. The moonlight reflected off its metallic exterior, speckling its green carapace with shimmering white.

"Is that a feckin' tank!?" Swarmer shouted, his stance broken by shock.

Huntress stood up on her hind legs and reached down as the tank headed her way.

A thunderous boom erupted from the barrel of the tank, launching a heavy, metal shell towards the Werewolf.

Huntress tilted herself to the side, almost evading the shell. The projectile took her right arm clean off and continued on through the woods before making a loud boom somewhere in the depths of the foliage. Subsequent snapping of wood and rustling of leaves came from the direction of the shell.

The tank continued on.

Once within arms-reach, Huntress grabbed the underside of the tank with her left arm and began to pull it upwards with little issue. Her hind-legs scarred the ground as she tilted the vehicle threatening to trample her. Her right arm began to regrow at a rapid pace and the claws of her feet sank into the ground, anchoring her and completely halting the advance of the tank.

The tank's cannon twirled around and struck Huntress's head with a loud clang, causing the Werewolf to drop the tank and lose her balance. It continued on and pinned Huntress against a hearty tree.

A hatch on top of the tank flew open. A singular bat flew out of the vehicle and hovered in front of the pinned beast. It's eyes glowed and made still all before its gaze. This was no ordinary bat.

"Gasper?" Akeno spoke with a labored voice. Though battered and injured, her aching facial muscles still managed to form a weak smile.

Following the bat, the long barrel of a massive gun rose from the tank's interior and perched itself on top of the vehicle. Once fully revealed, it took the shape of an arbitrarily large sniper rifle. Upon it stood a scope and below it lied a bipod stand as it aimed straight at the Werewolf. It looked exactly like the T-Gewehr Ryuusuke had donned before.

Following the rifle came a pale man's head bearing ghastly eyes and ash-colored hair. A pair of lanky, whitened arms followed behind, grasping the weapon as the head positioned itself to peer down the barrel. Pressed against the shoulder directly behind the stock of the weapon seemed to be three pillows tied on by a braid of rope.

"You again!?" Swarmer shouted at the man.

"He actually owns a tank... how in the Hell did he hide **that**?" Tsubasa thought in disbelief. A smile stretched across her face.

A loud bang was heard from the gun: not as loud as the bang from the tank, but still enough to hurt the ears of those nearby. Stopping just before the Werewolf's head, in stopped time, was a pointed bullet at least ten times the size of an average bullet.

"First bullet: on schedule for a kill-shot. Vladi, hold your position," Ryuusuke spoke with urgency, not even bothering to call Gasper "Dear" or "Creature." He put his weapon to the side before leaping out of the tank and charging towards Swarmer. Mid-dash, he threw off the pillows tied to his shoulder.

As Ryuusuke approached him, Swarmer pulled his fists back up to his face and took a firm stance. He swung with an arc of golden light following his fist once the pale man was within his range.

Ryuusuke ducked under the golden light and circled behind Swarmer. He wrapped his arms around the boxer's waist and hoisted him upwards.

"Shite!" Swarmer shouted before he was forcefully suplexed into the dirt with a painful-sounding thud.

The two stood back up and stared each other down. Swarmer took his boxer stance and Ryuusuke took a more militaristic stance with open palms.

"If he gets struck even once, he's good as dead," Tsubasa thought. She stepped forward.

The sound of her shoe grating across the dirt drew Ryuusuke's attention. "Do not interfere: I can't promise your safety if you fight him," he spoke, not even blinking as he kept his eyes on Swarmer.

"Let us handle this. You can't take a hit from him," Koneko urged, rubbing the caked dirt off of her face.

"Then I won't get hit," Ryuusuke retorted with a cold tone.

"Cheeky bastard..." Swarmer muttered. He opened with a jab aimed for Ryuusuke's torso, golden light trailing behind the punch.

Ryuusuke caught Swarmer by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder. Once his opponent was on the ground, he held Swarmer's arm as he delivered several stomps to the head.

Swarmer dissipated one of his Strike Stockpile gauntlets to free himself from the man's grip and got back up to deliver a haymaker with his other arm.

Ryuusuke batted away Swarmer's arm with his forearm, being careful to not let the man's fist touch any part of him. He spun his torso around and delivered a bare-footed kick to Swarmer just below his chest.

Swarmer reeled back and coughed profusely. He slouched over and struggled to maintain eye contact with his enemy whilst violently hacking up all the air in his lungs.

Ryuusuke delivered a rising knee to Swarmer's face, forcing him back a little more as he stumbled and coughed without pause.

"I don't care if you're supernatural, above humanity, or whatever it is you may be. Every being has a limit; humans are bound by a pitifully weak flesh cocoon that often fails to compare to their absurd ambition; animals live solely on basic instincts that limit what they are fully capable of; monsters, no matter how powerful, must hide themselves to survive in a world flushed with threats upon their lives; _and no God in whatever pantheon you are tied to is going to able to fix you when I'm done with you. Consider this the price you pay for even laying a hostile finger on my masters,_ " Ryuusuke lectured, walking circles around Swarmer in a slow, almost casual manner.

Swarmer chuckled, only occasionally being interrupted by the sparse cough. "Well, I gotta give it to ya; ya sure do know your anatomy, goin' for my diaphragm to take the wind outta me. What's next, ya gonna go for me joints to slow me down and weaken my arms? Go for the ol' fashioned shin abuse to keep me from movin' much?"

Swarmer, without any warning, struck the ground with his Strike Stockpile at an angle that kicked up a massive cloud of dirt in Ryuusuke's direction. He rushed into the cloud, arms and body tucked in as usual.

Once at where Ryuusuke stood, he let loose a mighty strike that cleared away the entire cloud.

The hobo wasn't there.

"Wha!?" Swarmer exclaimed. He turned around.

Standing only a few feet away from him, a Colt Python and a Desert Eagle pointed straight at the boxer's head, was Ryuusuke with an empty look in the eyes.

"What's next is that I'm going to make you spill: _Brain matter or intel. One gets me closer to my masters and the other is just there because I don't like you or your attitude: take your pick on which comes first,"_ he spoke with a serious tone.

* * *

The two stood silent, waiting for one to make a false move. Ryuusuke kept his eyes focused and unblinking while Swarmer seemed apt and ready to risk a sly disarm. The air choked the three young Devils as they processed what had just unfolded before them.

"I'll be damned... Never met a man who could best me in a fist-fight. Got somethin' to train for from now on," Swarmer said with a confident tone.

" _Implying I'll leave you in any state better than irreversibly vegetative?_ " Ryuusuke threatened.

" _Implying that you'll get the chance?_ " Swarmer snapped back.

A white glow surrounded Swarmer.

Ryuusuke shot both of his guns. The shots went through Swarmer, but not in the way the pale man would've hoped for: they phased through Swarmer like he wasn't there. Ryuusuke looked towards Huntress and found she had that same glow surrounding her despite being trapped in stopped time.

"Better luck next time, ya lanky freak o' nature," Swarmer taunted.

In a flash of bright white light, the two vanished.

"What!?" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"So close..." Koneko muttered.

Gasper reverted to his humanoid form, rubbing his strained eyes as he fell to his knees.

The bullet Gasper had suspended crashed into and blew through the tree it hovered before, causing the sturdy plant to topple over to the side with a rumbling crash, rustling leaves, and the sharp sound of snapping branches. If that massive bullet did that much to that tree, there is no telling what havoc it would've brought upon Huntress had it struck her.

"Please don't be mad, Mr. Akahoshi," he thought, not wanting to even turn in the pale man's general direction.

The corner of Ryuusuke's straightened mouth twitched and his brow seemed to furrow. He looked up to the sky and raised his guns upwards. With a violent, lingering yell, he fired off his guns into the night sky until there was no more ammunition in either firearm.

Gasper yelped and disappeared back into the tank with the aid of his Sacred Gear. He peered through the periscope of the heavy locomotive.

"I have to contact President," Akeno urged with pained grunts. She raised her hand to her ear. "This is not good. Please tell me at least someone has made some headway," she thought before speaking over the communication link.

* * *

 **Kuoh Cemetery, 3:40 AM**

Genshirou holds his own against the combined forces of Lux and Umbra. The two Doppelgängers prove to be too much of a ranged threat for him to get in close, so he takes to cover behind a large headstone. Sona, still held within the shadows of Umbra, is unable to be of any assistance in this confrontation. Meanwhile, Ruruko is finishing up the remainder of the resurrected dead summoned forth by Umbra's transformed Faceless Mask.

* * *

The groans of the shambling corpses die down with each body Ruruko reduces to a scattered, decomposing mess until all of their voices are reduced to futile wheezing and death rattles as they once again return to the domain of death. Ruruko, alone, stands before piles of fetid bodies piled up and scattered about, insects and small animals of many types flocking towards the massive feast she had inadvertently prepared for them.

"Ya know, maybe I should've had Saji take care of this. This is absolutely disgusting," Ruruko lamented, shaking old blood off her fists. Her two brown ponytails had a plethora of insects entangled in her locks with patches of blood soaking into her hair. "I'm gonna need a long, hot shower after this," she said, not wanting to put her hands anywhere near her hair in fear of get more gunk trapped in it. She groaned in disgust. "I think this would be too much filth for even Yura to tolerate."

"Nimura, we need you here immediately," Sona's voice spoke to Ruruko through the communication link.

"What's goin' on?" she asked with a finger to her ear.

"The Doppelgängers are proving to be too much of a threat for me and Saji to handle. We need you here immediately to help Saji," Sona answered with urgency.

Ruruko turned to where she was feeling the familiar demonic energies of her allies. Her eyes narrowed. "Are they taking the forms of you and Saji?"

"No," Sona answered.

With this assurance, Ruruko flew towards the energies. "On my way. How bad is the situation?"

"The umbrakinetic Doppelgänger has got me contained. Saji is stuck confronting the both of them himself. I'm currently thinking of a way to free myself. Until then, I'll feed you two whatever information I can recall on Doppelgängers. Not much is known on them, but maybe we can use something here to put the odds in our favor," Sona explained.

* * *

Genshirou, still taking cover behind a headstone, sits silently. Though hoping to ambush at least one of the Doppelgängers, he dedicates some thought towards how to get out of his situation if caught here.

"I can't use my wings to move around; they'll hear it too well in this near dead silence. Maybe I can use my Absorption Line as a silent grapple hook to move around. No, no, no: a glowing blue line that sticks out like a sore thumb would arguably be a worse idea to use for a stealthy approach," Genshirou thought. He peered around the headstone.

The Angelic wings of Lux faced away from him as she hovered in the air. Her hooded head seemed to be turned away as well.

Umbra, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit…" Genshirou thought. Where could the other one be?

Lux's head began turning towards Genshirou.

Genshirou dipped back behind the headstone.

"The other Devil re-murdered my undead minions," Umbra spoke. Her voice sounded as if it came from the other side of the headstone Genshirou was huddled against.

"I shall breathe life into them once more," Lux spoke from a distance. Her bone wings crackled with green electricity.

Genshirou's heart froze and he broke into a cold sweat. "Damn, damn, damn. She was this close to finding me." A sudden thought struck his mind that brought back his resolve. "Wait a minute, now's my chance." He stood up from behind the headstone and deployed his Absorption Line.

The bright blue line ensnared Umbra, who let out a strained grunt as Genshirou's Sacred Gear did its work and absorbed her energy.

Almost immediately, the shadows encapsulating Sona weakened. From within her barrier, she could faintly see Lux turned away with the green electricity enveloping her transformed Sacred Gear. A series of bright, yellow portals appeared before her.

Sona put her hand to her ear. "Be cautious, Saji. The Angelic one is preparing something."

"She wouldn't dare fire a spell at her own dear partner" Genshirou retorted as he stood behind Umbra, using her as a meat shield.

Lines of golden light shot out from the portals, all heading towards Genshirou's direction.

"Apparently she would! Get out of there!" Sona warned.

"She's just trying to scare me off. Just watch." Genshirou said, a smug grin spreading across his face.

The lines of light started to bend and warp. Their forms refined into glowing chains of golden light.

"Those weren't lasers?" Genhirou thought. He dissipated his Absorption Line and started his tactical retreat. At least he managed to get some pressure off of Sona.

Something grasped his leg as he tried to flee. He looked down to see a glob of liquid darkness holding onto his foot like a wad of heavy tar.

"Shit!" Genshirou exclaimed. The chains, though having to travel a fair distance, would have no problem ensnaring an immobile target.

Just then, a foot struck the side of Umbra's head, sending her flying away from Genshirou. The glob of shadow around his foot vanished and the ensnaring darkness around Sona dissipated.

Before Genshirou took any time to take note of his savior, he sent forth another glowing blue line from his Sacred Gear and wrapped it around the chains Lux had sent his way. He promoted himself to a Rook and pulled on the line in hopes of dragging the Doppelgänger down.

Despite not having any ground to anchor herself in place, Lux held her ground with equal, if not greater, strength. Lux summoned forth a swarm of light arrows that hovered just above her.

A water serpent wrapped itself around the Doppelgänger and a massive flock of water falcons flung themselves at the light arrows before Lux could even fire them off. Bright explosions littered the sky as the water falcons took the hits for the Devils.

"What, no thank you?" Ruruko jested, flicking her hand on Genshirou's arm.

"Oh… yeah… Thanks for the save," Genshirou said, turning to where Ruruko had kicked Umbra to.

* * *

The Doppelgänger pulled herself back up with a grunt. Umbra turned back to look at Ruruko, her evil-looking left eye shining through like a malevolent beacon.

"I'll be sure to drown you in your own shadow," she threatened with a rolling growl.

"You're not going to be doing anything if you value your ally's life," Genshirou retorted, titling his head towards the ensnared Lux with a sure grin.

"Which ally?" Umbra asked followed by a chilling chuckle. Unholy groaning and gurgling could be heard alongside thunderous footsteps.

"Wha-" Genshirou began, a meaty mass bashed into his body with an unpleasant, wet, squishy sound. He crashed through a headstone and smashed up against another one.

Ruruko took to the skies to get a visual on the new opponent. She nearly vomited upon seeing what had struck her fellow Pawn.

Below Ruruko, producing a sickening orchestra of deathly wailing and guttural growls, was a massive abomination made with the corpses of the undead she had just recently reduced to worm food. Its massive arms consisted of full torsos with the occasional head or limb poking out and wiggling like a parasitic larva emerging from its host. Its hands were adorned with an uneven and abnormal number of fingers that consisted of arms and legs. It bore not just four stout, puss-covered legs, but also an extra appendage jutting from just under its left arm that ended in a ball of decaying heads and stripped skulls. The stench flooding from the corpse golem was beyond compare.

"What the Hell is that!?" Ruruko shouted, holding her nose and struggling to keep her lunch where it belongs.

"My sister's little toy soldier," Umbra answered.

"These wings aren't just for show," Lux added, the water serpent not even seeming to phase her as it constricted her.

A pillar of light erupted from the ground and evaporated the serpent. Lux turned towards Sona. "Now we fight, Heir of Sitri. Me and you."

"I'll give you a choice, Nimura: me or the golem? Eitherway, something's going to reduce your male friend to a pile of ground meat," Umbra proposed.

"Then I'll take you both!" Ruruko boasted with a defiant tone and smirk.

"So you choose to fight with no hope of escape from your demise? Wouldn't have it anyway else, if I am to be honest," Umbra spoke before letting out a malevolent chuckle. She rose her arm to point at Ruruko. "Get her."

The corpse golem barreled towards Ruruko, wobbling around like a jelly in the wind as it ran on its four legs. Its club appendage swung at Ruruko with an accompanying nightmarish screech, to which she evaded.

* * *

Light spears hailed upon Sona, forcing her to take cover in a mausoleum.

The crashing and explosions of the light projectiles aided her escape, albeit a little too well. She was thrown against the far back wall of the mausoleum, bashing her head against the stone structure in the process.

Though in a daze, the finely polished stone nameplates of those who had passed still shone like diamonds in her eyes. It was almost enough to make Sona not question why the sound of a corpse trying to escape its entombment was not present anywhere within this specific mausoleum. There was no sign of any prior exiting, as everything kept a pristine shimmer to it that reflected Sona's image similarly to that of a mirror.

She got up, dazed but still able to read a few names as she leaned upon the wall for leverage. One of the names snapped her from her daze.

"Ryuusuke Akahoshi," the nameplate read.

Sona readjusted her glasses to see if her eyes were merely tricking her.

"Ryuusuke Akahoshi: Superior Private of Squad 7th and one of the greatest marksmen of his time. Nicknamed Snowy Falcon by his squad-mates and known only as a sudden bang by his foes. Died under the gun while protecting his homeland from an inside threat. Though his remains are yet to be found, our condolences go out to his family and friends who have suffered from his passing," the nameplate read.

"What the Hell…" Sona spoke under her breath. How could Ryuusuke be dead if he's been with them this entire time? She glanced at a neighboring nameplate and noticed that the entire wall she stood before was erected in remembrance of this "Squad 7th."

Another nameplate stood out to her. While every other plaque there seemed to be kept in top shape, it was oddly the only one weathered and eroded. She glanced over the nameplate; the words were incomprehensible save for a few fragmented semblances of a sentence in the beginning.

"-Eng Ne-... Pr-te of Sq-... th... dear fri-... hoshi..." Everything else was illegible.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of the broken words.

The sounds of footsteps cut Sona's time of contemplation short. She snapped from the nameplate and stared towards the entryway of the mausoleum.

Walking her way, Angelic wings outstretched proudly in the enclosed location, was Lux.

"There is no hiding from this confrontation, Heir of Sitri. Face your demise with pride befitting that of your ranking and grant me the honor of felling such a Devil," Lux spoke. A sword of light manifested in her hand as she walked towards Sona.

Sona sent a swarm of water hornets towards Lux.

Lux erected a barrier of light, evaporating the hornets as they threw themselves against her.

"So this is how I die: by the hands of a mimic in Angel's clothing?" Sona thought. Her eyes drew back towards the nameplate bearing Ryuusuke's name.

Something caught her eye as she briefly glared at the nameplate.

A figure, grotesque and skeletal, stood where Lux would in the reflection. Its skin was sickly green and translucent, showing some semblance of organs and veins beneath the flesh as it tightly stretched over the torso in a way that made it seem heavily emaciated. The eyes failed to match: the left was a beaming yellow, frog-like eye while the right bore the typical red iris and black sclera used to distinguish Lux from Umbra. Its arms and legs seemed to be nothing but bone tightly covered by flesh. Its fingers were like those of spider legs ending in rounded fingertips similar to that of a human. It seemed to have no mouth… or nose… or ears. It looked, to put it simply, alien.

The voice of Lux wailed as if in great distress and pain before contorting into an unholy screech of some inhuman creature. The reflection seemed to cave in and claw at itself like there was some parasite squirming just beneath its skin. Its screeching got worse the longer Sona watched. Was this the true form of a Doppelgänger?

She turned back towards Lux to see her kneeling on the ground, panting.

"So your kind hates others viewing your reflection. This is valuable information," Sona thought before turning her gaze back towards the reflected monstrosity. She put a finger to her ear. "Nimura, get the other Doppelgänger in front of a reflective surface and stare at its reflection. It seems to be a weakness of theirs," Sona spoke as Lux's screeching continued.

"I… uh… think I'm fine. She kinda just fell to the ground and started screaming like she was on fire or somethin'. I didn't look at any reflection: she just… dropped. The corpse golem also fell apart, so I think that means we won?" Ruruko spoke over the communication link with an unsure tone.

"Odd… they seem to have some form of deep sensory connection. Do all Doppelgängers share this collective reaction, or is it just these two?" Sona thought, keeping an eye on Lux's reflection.

* * *

Lux's screeching gave way to her glowing with a gradually intensifying white light.

Sona manifested a barrier around herself, anticipating this to be a last-ditch-effort tactic. She kept her eyes trained on the reflection.

"President, the shadow-using Doppelgänger is glowing white. Should she be doing this?" Ruruko asked over the communication link with a wavering voice.

"What? Her too?" Sona responded.

A bright, white light erupted, blinding Sona briefly. When her vision returned, the Doppelgänger was nowhere in sight.

"President! The Doppelgänger is gone! Be on guard!" Ruruko shouted over the communication link.

"Agh! Nimura, quiet down. You are speaking directly into my ear, remember?" Sona snapped, cupping her ear with her hand as a deafening ringing took over. "And don't worry, I think they just retreated. The photokinetic Doppelgänger vanished as well."

"My apologies, President," Ruruko spoke.

"I'll have to inform Rias of this development immediately. Get Saji up and regroup at my location," Sona spoke.

After she finished speaking, a projection similar in appearance to a radio dial manifested before her ear. She twirled her hand as if changing channels on the dial of an old model T.V. and prepared to speak, but not before a thought crossed her mind and sank her heart. "Please. Daisuke, please be safe," she thought, growing pale at the thought of the worst possible result if the mercenaries get away.

* * *

 **Kuoh Streets, 3:40 AM**

The symphony of birds cheered on the Okuri-Inu as he chased down Xenovia. Yuuto still hung motionlessly over her shoulder, bleeding. In spite of his almost corpselike stillness, he seemed to have regained at least some consciousness as evidenced by his weakened groans of pain. From time to time, Tomoe intercepted the three on their run and attempted to slash at Rippers legs. Every time she did, he deftly evaded as if he was expecting her to come from nowhere. As Xenovia's stamina dwindled, so did her willingness to go along with Tomoe's plan.

* * *

"Meguri, I can't keep running like this for much longer," Xenovia said with a labored voice. She turned her head to look back at Ripper, keeping her finger to her ear.

He showed no signs of exhaustion. His steps still matched Xenovia's perfectly.

"You know what? Fuck this. If I wind up exhausted, me and Kiba are both goners. I need to stand my ground here and now," Xenovia thought. "I'm stopping."

"We have to keep running. He'll let his guard down eventually; it's only a matter of time," Meguri plead.

"Well, I the one that has to carry Kiba while fleeing from a death hound. I can't keep running. If I do, I won't have any energy left to defend myself when he does decide to stop playing this game with us," Xenovia refuted. She stopped her run and turned towards Ripper.

Ripper, too, stopped. The birds that swarmed him sung their obnoxious song as they dispersed and perched themselves on the nearby buildings.

Xenovia cautiously walked herself over to the wall of a building. She knelt down, careful to not make a misstep, and placed Yuuto against the wall. She rose back up and turned back towards Ripper.

Ripper only watched, his crimson eyes shining like headlights through the darkness of his hood.

"Come on, mongrel: you and me," Xenovia spoke. She outstretched her arm and summoned forth Durandal from a glowing portal. Brandishing the hefty Holy Sword, she circled around Ripper like a wolf spotting for an opening.

Ripper followed along with Xenovia's circling. He matched her step-for-step, not taking his eyes off of her.

The shadow birds became a silent audience as they watched the two pace around each other in a slow, meticulous manner.

"Since he won't attack first, I can use this to my advantage. Just got to keep looking like I'll strike at any moment," Xenovia thought. Hoping to get as much stamina back as she could from this little dance, she kept hostile eyes on Ripper.

Ripper's red eyes were unblinking as he awaited Xenovia's next move. He seemed to be falling for the ploy.

The two continued to circle each other. Each circle they made, Ripper seemed to lurk closer by only a few inches. Though her reprieve was limited, Xenovia had plenty of time to catch her breath before Ripper was too close for her to be playing the stalling game.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" a few of the red-eyed birds sung.

The flash of steel glided towards Ripper from behind him. Behind the glimmer was Tomoe once again. The sound of a sword slicing through the air zoomed towards the Okuri-Inu.

Ripper evaded and hopped a short distance away without so much as a grunt of frustration.

"Damn it, those birds won't let us sneak up on him," Tomoe muttered.

"We can't touch him, can't outrange him, can't defend against him, and can't hide from his senses. What **can** we do?" Xenovia thought. She circled around the Okuri-Inu again, keeping Durandal trained on him.

Ripper, this time, didn't follow Xenovia in her circling. He stood stationary, cutting glares at her and Tomoe that were only broken by his red eyes disappearing behind his eyelids each time he swapped his focus. When Xenovia was out of his peripherals, he wouldn't even bother to turn around to keep an eye on her.

Once Xenovia was on the other side of Ripper, Tomoe circled around him as well. She kept her katana trained on him at all times and kept an ear out for the flapping of wings from the birds watching from the sidelines.

Ripper stood there and did nothing as usual.

* * *

Having regained a substantial amount of stamina, Xenovia lunged in from behind Ripper.

Tomoe followed suit and rushed in from the front, katana trailing through the air behind her.

Xenovia let lose a downward slash to Ripper's left side.

Tomoe went for an upwards slash aimed at Ripper's right side.

Ripper turned his body to the left and weaved between the two slashes with profound expertise.

Tomoe turned and swung a horizontal slash at Ripper's head.

Xenovia tagged along and swung a slash at Ripper's legs, boxing him in even more.

Ripper flipped forwards. Tomoe's blade flew by his head while Xenovia's Durandal failed to strike his legs.

Before Ripper could even touch the ground, the Devils both prepared a downwards slash.

"Got you now!" Tomoe sounded in triumph.

A flock of the sparrow-like creatures flew into Ripper at high speeds and surrounded him. They carried him away from the two just as they released their attacks, causing both Tomoe and Xenovia to miss and almost strike each other.

Tomoe and Xenovia turned towards where the birds were carrying Ripper off to. The sight was not the most encouraging.

The flock of red-eyed avians parted in a way that revealed Ripper's crimson eyes among the cloud of blackened feathers and red dots. His eyes shone far brighter than those of the birds. His robed attire matched the pitch-black color of the sparrow-like creatures he created, making him seem to be one with the mass. The deafening sound of wings flapping and the birds' mocking song drowned out the Devils' very thoughts.

As the birds flew from the flock and returned to their posts on the surrounding buildings, Ripper's figure became more and more discernible. He held a posture that seemed a menacing perversion of Jesus's when he was nailed to the cross. His feet touched the ground and, within an instant, the rest of the birds dispersed.

It was back to square one for the two Knights.

"Damn it, we almost had him," Tomoe muttered as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xenovia.

"No. He was taunting us. He knows we can't do anything to him, so he's toying with us... giving us hope that we can win only to snatch it away," Xenovia refuted.

"Sadistic bastard. Well, at least we have some time to think of a plan," Tomoe whispered as she looked around the narrow battlefield.

The street was empty save for a few metal garbage bins by Yuuto. A perfectly good, bright red ball sat atop the fetid heap of one of the bins, but what use would that have? On the other side of the street stood a stout, metal street lamp. It seemed inoperable judging by the shattered bulb and frayed wiring sparking every so often. The glowing red eyes of the sparrow-like creatures stared her and Xenovia down in silence.

"Well, whatever it is, don't say it out loud. This thing has good ears," Xenovia warned, keeping her eyes trained on Ripper and her Durandal pointed in his direction.

"Good ears..." Tomoe repeated in her head. She focused her attention fully on the street lamp. She walked towards the construct slowly, making sure each and every step was sure-footed.

The birds watched her closely. They seemed ready to strike Tomoe at any moment.

"Hey! Focus on me, you Hellhound!" Xenovia shouted, taking note of the flock's fixation on her scheming ally, before rushing towards Ripper at full speed.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sounded furiously. They all dove towards Xenovia in a mad rush.

Tomoe scraped her katana against the street lamp, doing the best she could to make the noise as loud and earsplitting as possible. A piercing, grinding screech echoed through the street.

Immediately, the birds ceased their attack and dropped to the ground, squirming before being reduced to liquid shadow. Their song faded and their red eyes disappeared into darkness.

A rolling growl akin to that of an angered hound emanated from Ripper. He held the top of his head with a slouch.

"Meguri, you damn genius!" Xenovia shouted. She lunged towards Ripper, ready to put an end to his terrifying existence.

Ripper painstakingly dragged his hand through the air. An odd, red symbol appeared before him and, before Xenovia could land a killing blow on him, a wall of blackened smoke erupted from beneath him.

Durandal kept going and struck nothing. Despite his pained state, Ripper was still considerably adept at evading. Now covered in the black smoke, Xenovia lost visual on the Okuri-Inu.

"Meguri, watch out!" Xenovia shouted in warning.

A single "Chi!" sounded. A pained grunt from a female voice followed.

"No!" Xenovia shouted. She knew what came next.

The overwhelming aura of dread spiked yet again, chilling Xenovia's blood as she rushed from the smoke.

The sound of a garbage bin toppling over rang and, along with it, the bouncing of a ball could be heard.

Xenovia escaped the smoke. She rubbed her eyes and coughed before turning a gaze to Tomoe. "Megur…i?

* * *

Rolling around on the ground, chasing that red ball Tomoe had seen earlier, was Ripper.

Xenovia looked at Tomoe. A look of sheer terror existed before being swapped out with a visage of visible confusion upon her realizing the situation.

"Eh?" Tomoe sounded with a pitched voice.

Xenovia looked over to the toppled bins to see Yuuto stumbling around, that same confused look on his face.

"You've got to be shitting me..." Xenovia lamented as she watched what was perhaps her greatest enemy play will a red ball in a fashion similar to that of a domesticated dog. It all felt a little insulting, but was nonetheless welcome.

A ring of blades of various shapes and sizes rose from the ground at a slant towards Ripper, entrapping him in a cage of swords with little to no room for movement.

"Make even a suspicious twitch and I'll use those blades to tear you to shreds before you can even blink," Yuuto threatened with labored breathing.

Ripper rolled a low growl in response.

"I have half a mind to kill you where you stand, but we have a need for you," Xenovia spoke with a newfound confidence, approaching Ripper with Durandal hoisted over her shoulder.

Ripper turned his eyes towards Xenovia, that same growl crawling from his mouth. Though his movement was restricted and was essentially rendered harmless, his presence was still unnerving enough to dissuade direct eye contact.

"If you value your life, you should start spilling everything you know," Xenovia demanded, pulling her Durandal from over her shoulder and holding before the Okuri-Inu's face. Its point hovered just a few centimeters from his head.

* * *

A sudden white glow surrounded Ripper, illuminating only the bottom half of his face from under his hood. A smirk formed on his face, showing a set of sharpened canines. The glow grew more and more bright.

"No you don't!" Yuuto shouted. He clenched his hand into a fist.

The blades surrounding Ripper collapsed in on him like an elaborate cookie cutting utensil. The blades phased through him, failing to leave even a scratch.

"What!?" Tomoe exclaimed.

"Objective: Distract Division B. Status: Complete. Awaiting further instruction," Ripper spoke with a deep, yet oddly smooth voice. The light was almost blindingly bright at this point. "You failed."

Light exploded from Ripper, blotting out the vision of the three Knights. When their vision returned, the Okuri-Inu was gone.

"No! No! No!" Tomoe shouted, dropping her katana and grasping both of her reddish-brown pigtails.

"Damn it. We can't let them get away," Xenovia thought. She put her hand up to her ear, a dial-like projection manifesting just beyond her head. She twirled her hand around, adjusting the projection.

* * *

 **Kuoh Central Plaza-Fountain, 3:30 AM**

After having destroyed Archmage, Titan became the only thing truly stopping the Devils from saving their human friends. Harvest had been injured enough to warrant her to stay out of the fight while Hybrid had to cauterize the open wound Rias gave him when she blew off his entire arm. The Captain was still preoccupied with combating Grayfia, so that creature was no longer of the young Devils' concern. It all came down to a one-on-one fight: Issei versus Titan.

* * *

"Boost!"

Issei flew forward and threw out a punch aimed for Titan's midsection.

Titan batted away the strike with his right arm and retaliated with a downward swing from his golden mace.

Issei swerved to the left, but was still struck by the attack. It was as if Titan had been aiming a little to the side before Issei even made a move. Pinned under the weapon, Issei struggled to force it off of him.

Titan released his grip on the gold mace and walked over to Issei's side. He knelt beside him, his free arm strewn across his knee and his three-faced mace hoisted over his shoulder.

"You may have seen how mein waffe works, but you fail to **understand** how it works. Think about it, kind, and you might just find a way to win this. Or better yet, don't think about it," Titan lectured in his deep, Germanic voice.

"What in the Hell is that supposed to mean ya asshole?" Issei asked, grunting every so often as he tried to push away the golden mace.

Titan stood back up and walked back over to his mace. "It will make sense eventually. You're a little dense, but even you should be able to figure it out," He gripped the mace once again and, with a wave of his arm, dragged Issei through the dirt, flinging him away from the massive man.

"Boost!"

Issei caught himself mid-flight. He extended his right arm.

"Blade!"

Ascalon jutted out from his right gauntlet once again. With haste, he flew back towards Titan and delivered a slash aimed for his head.

Titan simply batted him away with his three-faced mace before Issei was even within striking range, sending the armored Devil flying away once more. His maces were more than capable of covering more ground than Ascalon could.

"You can't win this fight by fighting the way you currently do. Fight the way a cornered beast would and you may see some results," Titan lectured once again.

"There are innocent lives on the line, and here you are treatin' this whole battle like a class for me! Shut the fuck up, you pretentious shrimp-dicked steroid guzzler!" Issei shouted. Every word that thundered from the man made his blood boil hotter and hotter.

* * *

"Don't think about it... fight the way a beast would..." Ddraig repeated quietly with an inquisitive hum.

"Hey, it would be nice if ya helped me out once in a while," Issei snapped at the in-thought Ddraig.

"I see now. He has a blind-spot," Ddraig responded.

"Well, what is it?" Issei urged, keeping an eye on Titan.

"Yes Rot Drachen Ddraig, what is your revelation? What knowledge do you have to impart on your ally?" Titan chimed in. He twirled his maces around and planted them firmly into the ground, still holding a firm grip on both of them.

"Shit, he's listening," Issei lamented internally with grit teeth.

"It can't be helped. I can't tell you what you need to do; he'll know you've figured him out and will most likely adapt. Just take to heart what he says; **he's dropping hints for you to pick up on**. Do remember just **what** it is his faced mace does and the answer should come to you," Ddraig stated before going silent.

"Hey, don't leave me to fight him with no idea what I'm doing! Ddraig! Damn it!" Issei shouted. It didn't take long for him to give up and turn his attention back to the battle.

"It would be wise to listen to Der Rot Drachen Ddraig. He knows my weakness, but also knows you must learn it yourself if you are to take any advantage of it," Titan spoke. He lifted his maces once again and pointed the golden one towards the young Devil. "Stahl Dich!" Titan rushed towards Issei again.

* * *

"Boost!"

Issei flew towards Titan, promoting himself to a Queen to give himself an even larger speed advantage and boosted strength. He feigned a slash and swerved behind Titan only for him to dive back in for a back-attack.

Titan merely swung his three-faced mace over his shoulder and let it fall to the ground behind him, causing Issei's attack to strike the shaft of the weapon with a loud metallic clang.

Issei let out an agitated grunt before flying around Titan a few times at high speed. At this point, he was going too fast for the lumbering man to physically keep up with his position.

"Boost!"

Issei dove in from Titan's right with a plunging stab.

Titan turned and "punched" Issei with the golden mace. The spiked ball tip of the weapon pierced through a portion of the Scale Mail, stabbing Issei a few times in his midsection.

An agonizing, burning sensation flooded the entry points of the weapon's spikes. He let out bloodcurdling screams of pain as he was sent flying back from the strike. He smashed against the wall of a building, indenting himself in it.

"Ddraig! Damn it! I need some help here!" Issei shouted, the searing pain of his wound kicking his adrenaline production into overdrive.

No answer.

"Damn… What do I do now? I can try to disarm hi-" Issei thought.

"I would not recommend trying that tactic when you are the only combatant. Think about what I had told you," Titan intercepted.

"Don't think about it...fight the way a beast would..." Issei repeated Ddraig's words in his head, hoping to get a similar train of thought his partner had.

"Yes: those words. You're already closer than you realize," Titan spoke as he planted his maces into the dirt at his side once again.

Issei pulled himself from the building, blood leaking from his puncture wounds before Scale Mail repaired itself.

"Boost!"

He lunged from the wall and flew at Titan. Raising Ascalon up, he prepared to deliver a slash down upon Titan's head. He stunted his speed.

Titan lifted his maces back up and prepared to once again punish Issei's attempt.

"Don't think... Don't think..." The words repeated in Issei's head just before getting within Titan's range.

Issei's breathing stilled and his body loosened. His vision blurred and all became silent.

Titan swung his three-faced mace down. The mace crashed against the ground, but with no Devil pinned under. He looked down to see Issei with his right fist planted against his midsection, Ascalon burrowed into his body.

"Well done, kind," Titan said with a light chuckle. He coughed out blood, which fell upon Issei's visor.

"Wait, what?" Issei said, retracting Ascalon and stepping away from the man. "That worked?"

"Yes, that did work," Titan reassured.

Issei turned his attention to the Kasais, hope burning brightly in his heart. What he saw left him puzzled instead.

The Kasais were unharmed, but still within those same barriers Archmage had enveloped them in. But didn't they destroy the Lich? Does his magic work even after death?

"What's goin' on?" Issei asked with a shaky voice. "Why are they still in those bubbles?"

Titan didn't answer. He sat down in silence, releasing his maces and allowing them to crash into the ground with a heavy thud in order to hold his wound.

"Don't tell me..." Rias spoke.

Titan and Issei turned towards Rias's voice.

There she stood, somehow having found the strength to get back up on her feet. She was panting and stumbling as she approached Issei's side. Held under her arm was an unconscious Asia. "Don't tell me... the Lich isn't really dead."

"Like I said, kind, you only destroyed his body. Revenants can't be killed by anything other than the hands of a death deity or a Grim Reaper. Liches, being magically talented Revenants, can use this ability to their advantage," Titan explained. He stood up and walked over to his other allies, passing between Rias, Asia, and Issei. He held his wound with one hand and held onto both of his maces with his other hand, dragging them across the ground as he walked. "Observe."

* * *

Beside Harvest and Hybrid formed six different dots of white light.

"Quarta to President: the Okuri-Inu escaped! Beware of red-eyed sparrows: he seems to be able to use them as extra eyes and another means of attack! As ridiculous as this sounds, get a ball or a Frisbee ready!" Xenovias voice shouted at Rias over the communication link.

"Sona to Rias: The Doppelgänger duo vanished into thin air. I haven't heard back from either Shinra, Kusaka, or Hanakai. Be wary of an ambush; I'll be heading over to their location to aid them. If you do see the duo, find a reflective object and keep an eye on their mirrored forms," Sona's voice spoke right after Xenovia's.

"President, the Werewolf and the boxer are gone. We're dealing with a Sanguispilus. Repeat: a Sanguispilus," Akeno's voice followed Sona's. She spoke hurriedly and weakly as if she had been greatly injured before contacting Rias.

"No..." Issei said with an airy voice. He watched as the six dots grew.

In a flash of light, the remaining mercenaries manifested.

First came a figure bearing aqua-blue eyes—Typhoon—who seemed to be completely unharmed.

Second came a hulking, red-furred man-beast missing an arm—Huntress—and a human with golden light emanating from his arms—Swarmer. It didn't take even a full ten seconds for the Werewolf's arm to regrow.

Third came a pair of figures fallen to their knees, grasping at their heads. Briefly shouting in unison in a pained manner, they calmed down and got up. One bore three pairs of Angel wings and a single pair of skeletal wings while the other wore an onyx-black ring bearing a crystal skull around its left index finger. Their eyes distinguished them—Lux and Umbra.

Lastly came a tall, crimson-eyed figure. Despite panting in what was either exhaustion or fear, it exuded a menacing aura. This was the Okuri-Inu—Ripper.

* * *

Typhoon hurried to the injured Titan's side.

"Jaecar! What happened!?" Typhoon asked.

"Jaecar?" Rias repeated. Her blue eyes narrowed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"I'm fine. I trust this is part of Archmage's vision," Titan answered before reaching out and pulling Typhoon's head close to his. The sound of a hushed, Germanic voice crawled from the two.

"I'm sorry. I just got a little worried and blurted it out in the heat of the moment. Let me heal you," Typhoon spoke.

"I feel that Hybrid requires hilfe more than me," Titan responded, pointing over to the Doppelgänger missing its arm.

Typhoon turned to look at Hybrid.

It seemed Lux and Umbra were already on the case. Their Sacred Gears had already shifted into something akin to Asia's Twilight Healing. They held their hands up to their injured ally, its arm regenerating as their hands glowed.

"Nevermind, I guess," Titan retracted before letting Typhoon use her water magic to mend his stab wound.

A bright, purple orb of light manifested below the captured Kasai family, causing the mercenaries to turn towards it. Dust flowed towards the light and engulfed it in a grainy cloud of white. Was that… bone dust?

The cloud vanished into the light. A bleached human skeleton manifested around it before the light branched out into the bones of the skeleton, glowing dimmer with time until it had faded to nothing. The eye sockets, starting as blackened and empty holes, became home to a pair of ominous and dim blue dots. A black robe materialized around the skeleton. Like so, Archmage stood once again as if nothing had happened.

"And now, the finale," Archmage spoke. He raised an arm and snapped his bony fingers.

"No... no... no no no. We were so close. We were so close," Issei thought. He knew there was no way he could fend off the rest of them himself; they had lost.

He choked on the air and fell to his knees. Tears streamed from under his visor as he watched his dear friends, one of the few things that reminded him of what it was to be human, vanish within flashes of white light in pairs of two.

First went the hardworking Romeo and Juliet pair: Haru, the jovial businessman with the bulk of a bear, and Miu, the sweetheart with a crazy switch.

Second went the adorable flower duo: Ren, the endearing numbskull with a love for nature, and Ran, the sharp-witted social recluse with a protective heart.

Then, lastly, went the siblings he had bonded so closely with: Daisuke, the shy prince with a distinct set of eyes, and Ai, the gentle giant with an infectious mood.

They were all gone. He had failed in his promise to protect them.

* * *

A grim aura befell the battlefield. It felt nothing like that of any other, as if some great monster had awoke from a slumber. It all emanated from Issei, who seemed to have shut himself down as evidenced by his stillness and silence.

"It would be ill advised to stay here any longer. Rias Gremory, take your allies and leave immediately if you value your and their lives," Ddraig spoke from Issei's Boosted Gear.

"What do you mean by that?" Rias responded.

"The Dragon of Supremacy," Typhoon answered with an airy, energetic voice. Her body trembled, but it was uncertain if it was out of fear.

"It seems you know a fair amount concerning of my power, yet you still oppose me. I thought you crazy Wanis were supposed to be Dragon fanatics. No matter," Ddraig spoke.

Immediately, an overwhelming energy erupted from Issei, kicking up a fierce wind that pushed away even the stoutest of the combatants.

"Uh oh, Dragon Man's **really** mad," Harvest said with a quiver.

"I sure hope ya know what ya be doin' Archmage!" Swarmer shouted to his ally.

Though the mighty winds pushed his bony frame back, Archmage remained in stoic silence.

"Ise!" Rias shouted, attempting to make a sudden move towards her Pawn only to be stopped by a sharp pain in her leg. The combination of the strong winds and her exhaustion made it impossible for her to get close.

"Rias, get out of there! Whatever that thing is, it's going to tear you apart!" Sona's voice barked at Rias, seeming to feel the presence even from across the town.

"No... that's Issei. What in the world is going on over there?" Akeno corrected.

"How in the world could that be Hyoudou!? Last time I checked, his peak power wasn't even a tenth of what I'm picking up! Run Rias!" Sona barked again.

"That nary beon necessary. This scuffle hast already been settled," Archmage's voice permeated the communication link once again.

"You! What have you done!?" Xenovia butted in.

Archmage never answered her.

"Final warning, Rias Gremory. Leave immediately or be destroyed," Ddraig urged with a stern tone.

Green orbs fluttered from the gem on Scale Mail's chest and floated around Issei like a cloak of wisps. They seemed to speak in pained, often saddened whispers undecipherable.

" **I, who am about to awaken...** " Ddraig's voice thundered, amplifying the already immense aura Issei was exuding.

"Titan… play thy final part so we can return to our place of dwelling," Archmage spoke, turning his back to Issei despite the Devil's near insurmountable energy that made his own seem more akin to a flickering lighter.

"Very well," Titan responded. He rose his golden mace up. It glowed with a bright light more blinding than even the sun itself. "Schlaf, Issei Hyoudou. Awaken when your ire cools."

Immediately, the strong winds died down and the spike of energy faded to nothing. The wisps that circled Issei silenced and faded away into his body.

* * *

"What!? Hyoudou, what's wrong!? What did you do!?" Ddraig thundered with a raised tone.

Scale Mail automatically retracted, revealing Issei with closed eyes as his body fell to the ground, unconscious.

"It's hard to activate Juggernaut Drive when your vessel is unable to supply negative emotion," Titan answered. His mace stopped glowing as he lowered it.

"This concludes our performance. For being such a swell audience, we will let you live and leave you be. Have yourselves a most splendid life," Archmage spoke before he vanished in a flash of light.

"Farewell, Rot Drachen Ddraig," Titan said with maces planted in ground by his side before he, too, vanished.

"It was fun playing with you guys," Harvest said with a wave before vanishing as well.

Hybrid only stared down Rias with an ireful aura before he vanished with Lux and Umbra.

"Operation Status: All objectives complete. Returning to base," Ripper spoke in his undeservingly pleasant voice before vanishing.

"Hey, tell that pale fecker with the empty eyes a spot be open in our company if he ever be needin' employment!" Swarmer shouted before he and Huntress vanished.

"Even if it was only for a brief moment, your power was truly an experience. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ddraig, even as an enemy," Typhoon said with a bow before vanishing.

* * *

Those words and goodbyes being said, the three Devils were left in an empty, destroyed battleground. The fountain that used to liven up the place was reduced to wettened rubble. It's an absolute miracle how most of the nearby buildings remained intact.

"Hyoudou... you did well. I only wish I could've been of more aid. Rest now, we'll figure this out later," Ddraig said, leaving the young Devil to his well deserved slumber.

Now speechless and having lost the battle, Rias finally caved in to her exhaustion while uttering a broken sentence.

"Ise… I…" she drifted off.

* * *

 ** _ **Hello everyone reading. Surprise, it's me once again crawling back from the bloody grave to give you another train-wreck (or perhaps an early Christmas gift depending on how you view my story).**_**

 ** _ **For those of you concerned with why it took me so long to make just this single chapter (aside from it being about 30,000 words in length), I would like to foremost apologize. Things, at least over the past few months, have been a downward spiral. I fell into a near crippling depression, fell roughly a full month behind on college work, had my whole world view flipped upside-down, lost pretty much my entire childhood (a lot of sentimental belongings being most of the composition)**_** ** _ **and**_** ** _ **a lot of other crazy personal nonsense that I feel is better off not talked about in excessive detail. Only recently have I had any form of joy and motivation return to me.**_**

 ** _ **More bad news, the notes I had taken for this story wound up missing as well, so I may have to take time to either draw upon recollections and make new notes or keep rummaging around in the faint hope of me finding them yet again. Either way, the following chapters will be delayed: hopefully not as much as this one was, but still. I may take this time to refine earlier chapters again, so there's that option.**_**

 ** _ **Having endured some time of hardship, I may have grown rusty with my writing style. Do be sure to point out any error or flaw you feel needs to be pointed out. I may just be recovering from being a sad-sack, but I can still take some criticism.**_**

 ** _ **Now, enough of my pity-party. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I dearly apologize for my utter lack of consistency**_** ** _ **and prevalent incompetency**_** ** _ **. I'm planning on making this the final chapter of the second volume, but I may add in an extra chapter if something does come to mind.**_**

 ** _ **Also, I may decide to start responding to reviews in the little heading bits starting just below the disclaimers in their own little section to see if I can be more connected with my readers. What do you guys think about that? Should I do it?**_**


	22. Volume 2:Extra Life

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 ** _A Job Well Done._**

While the Kuoh Devils were set to revel in the self-contempt and woe of having failed to save their friends from the clutches of a group of mercenaries, business was calling elsewhere for the unit of hired killers. Hopping from one task to another, they begin to take their next job.

* * *

Alone stands a large, mostly empty room. The floors were of polished gray stone with the walls being made of the same material. There lied a row of large windows stretching from the roof to the floor that lined the entirety of a single wall, allowing plentiful moonlight to seep in and dress the room with a faint, bluish glow. Looking out from the line of windows allowed one to see miles upon miles of a robust civilization. Six large chandeliers hung overhead, all positioned to form a pentagonal shape with an extra, slightly larger chandelier stationed in the center of the superimposed shape. The bright, orange lights of the chandeliers kept the blue of the moonlight from adorning the upper half of the room. Attached to a wall adjacent to the row of windows stood a singular, fancy wood door polished to a lustrous twinkle. In the center of the room lied a large table made of the same gray stone as the floor around it. It was here, most of them sitting in the numerous chairs surrounding the table with a handful of stragglers standing off to the side, where the group of ten sat and waited as if expecting someone. They no longer donned their shadowy garb, displaying their true identities.

Sitting in a chair that faced towards the window was where a buxom woman donning an aqua-blue kimono whose color seemed to move and glisten like the flow of gentle tides beneath the sunlight took occupation. She looked much like the ocean personified; free, blue hair streaming from her head in combination with skin like clean, smooth ocean bed sand. Her hands rested upon her legs as her eyes wandered from partner to partner. The moonlight illuminated her, making her eyes shine a vibrant blue.

"Something the matter, Miss Shukun?" a moderately endowed woman floating around the room in a likeness that could only be considered aimless asked in a cheery, almost child-like manner. Her positively glowing skin and rosy cheeks made her seem like the pinnacle of innocence and the brown, curly hair on her head bound to a single ponytail contrasted with the untamed and carefree green in her eyes. She wore a simple, white dress that fluttered without concern of who saw beneath as she drifted through the air with a white lily necklace dangling from her neck.

"J-Just keeping a head count on everyone. Nothing much, Exitia," The blue-draped woman answered with a brief shake in her voice, her eyes darting briefly to the man sitting next to her.

"You almost failed to keep secrecy when confronted by the Sitri's forces; is that what you're worried about, Fruendin Kaiyou?" a man with a deep Germanic accent boomed from down the table in the chair closest to the only door in the room, his pale hand resting on a weapon hilt jutting from a small portal beaming with bright, white light within. His hands alone were about the size of a normal man's head. With his other hand, he ruffled his messy, blonde hair cut short to his scalp. His green eyes and thin, blonde brows which seemed to bear a scar across the left seemed stern and angry. He released his grip on the hilt, causing both it and the portal to vanish, before he shrugged his brown, worn cloth jacket into a more comfortable position over his green shirt. He tucked his hands into a pair of pockets in his cargo pants. "Might I ask how exactly they managed to pressure you that much, fruendin?"

The blue-draped woman hung her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt them, so I tried to talk with them a little and they got the better of me with words alone."

"Nary beon so ashamed; thou were only playing thy part. Thou hast done most well," the man beside her she had glanced at earlier added, odd dialect confirming the man as Archmage. Instead of being a shambling skeleton as one would expect, he looked almost identical to the studious Chihaku Chiyonosuke form he took earlier: same dark-blue hair tied in a ponytail draped over the back of the chair; same blue eyes hiding behind pince-nez eyewear as they scanned through a tome of numerous pages; same round face steeped in thought and concentration as he read; and so forth. The only thing really different was his clothing, donning an elaborate and scholarly blue robe typically seen on wizards and the such instead of common civilian attire.

"So, I didn't fumble?" Kaiyou asked with worried words and a contrastingly hopeful glint in her eyes.

"Nary a bit. Thou performed just as flawlessly as the rest of us," Archmage answered, prying his gaze from his tome to look towards the gigantic Germanic man. "Nary be so apprehensive, Gent Jaecar Abatangelo. Everything hast fallen into place most perfectly; there nary beon need for thou to worry."

"It's not so much about that. Fruendin Kaiyou **has** to grow more of a backbone. I know irhe familie doesn't necessarily-" Jaecar retorted.

"Please don't drag them into this. I just don't want to hurt people unless I really have to; I keep telling you this," Kaiyou butted in with a slightly raised tone, said tone getting quieter as she spoke.

"Das tut mir lied, I didn't intend on bringing them into this: a Freudian Slip, I suppose. I just don't want someone taking advantage of you," Jaecar said, thunderous voice unchanging despite his sincere words.

"Kindness isn't to be mistaken for weakness; you, of all people, should know that given how forgiving Kataga was for taking you in after the morally reprehensible shit you've done mister 'Holy Executioner,'" said a man in a high-class black suit resting his head on his arms much like that of a sleepy high school student. Suit aside, he looked and sounded exactly like the disinterested Chikaya Moto.

Jaecar's head hung low. "Ja, I know..." he said with woe hidden by his natural rumble.

"Feckin' Hell X!" a black-haired man of average height in a short-sleeved white shirt that accentuated his well-toned physique shouted with a prominent Irish accent from in front of the wall-spanning windows. Turning towards the man known as X, he stared him down with tense, green eyes. He donned black gloves that revealed part of the backs of his pale-skinned hands, one of which rested upon the hip of his well-worn jeans with the other fiddling with a ruby necklace hanging from his neck. "Ya gotta stop goin' for your pals' throats like that; man's be tryin' his best to grow from that, ya apathetic prick," he said as he plucked a black, short-sleeved jacket with green highlights from the ground and proceeded to fit himself into it.

"I'm sorry X, I'll have to side with Rory on this one; that seemed a little harsh," said a ghostly-pale woman sitting beside him bearing upper-back length hair with the hue of snow and a gruesome red and black right eye contrasting against a gentle, green left eye. She donned a beautiful white garb akin to holy robes which added to her angelic beauty.

"Usually I would condone shit-talk, but that was a little unneeded," said another ghostly-pale woman sitting to the other side of X who looked, at least face and figure-wise, the same as the first woman. This one bore onyx-black hair that only barely passed her neck in length and possessed the same eye colors as the other woman, only this time the colors were swapped from left to right and vice-versa. She donned a black, skin-tight, full-body suit that accentuated her curves and gave her a more deviant vibe.

"What? Jaecar's a man who'd rather have someone give it to him straight and it seems I'm the only one who has the balls to do so: so why not?" X refuted, lifting his head from his arms and looking around with a resting scowl he could not help but naturally hold. "Sorry that I fulfill a niche roll no one else wants to take that makes me seem like I'm being the asshole at every gathering," he said as he adjusted a white cravat tie fitted to his suit.

"Ja, he's correct. I'd rather hear the truth, no matter how blunt it may be, than hear honeyed words that make light of my issues," Jaecar retorted, his head risen back up and brimming with a dominant air in his voice.

"Well shag me for tryin' to prevent a fight," Rory mumbled before turning back to look out the window once again.

The spectacled Archmage chuckled lightly before looking away from his book once again to turn his gaze to Rory. "There would nary beon a fight to begin with, Gent Rory Kane. Gent X is only this blunt with Gent Jaecar Abatangelo as he knows he's fine with the honesty. Otherwise, Gent X will makest sure to beon wary to avoid touchy topics despite his most rude tone."

"Not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, but thanks anyway Ulrich," X said before returning to resting his head on his arms.

"Thou art most welcome, Gent X," Archmage, now known as Ulrich, replied before turning his gaze back to his tome.

A minute of silence fell upon the room. Then, a sigh.

"Sooooo… how long do ya think they are gonna be in there? They've been talking for a while," said a woman who looked exactly like Gekkou Hayashi sitting across and to the left of Jaecar and a few seats to X's right. She, unlike her allies, wore the same outfit seen at Murayama's party: white button-up shirt; hotpants; etc. Her shirt, however, had the topmost buttons undone, revealing a notable amount of caramel-colored cleavage. A claw quickly grew from her pinky finger as she raised her hand to pick a chunk of what seemed to be meat out from between her vicious canid cuspids. Her hazel eyes dashed from side to side before licking her excavated food remnants off her claw.

"They should beon done anon," Ulrich answered the woman. A slight, cheery grin appeared on his face. "Doth taketh note that picking thine teeth doth nary constitute as flossing, Lady Amara Sesminis."

A red-furred, dog-like tail stationed on the woman's lower back, demanding her hotpants give way for its existence by moving the rim down slightly, shot into an upright position. "Hey Ricky, why'd ya have to call me out like that?"

"Ulrich's callin' ya out cuz ya haven't brushed your damn teeth in a week Amy," Rory added, staring out the window as he spoke.

"Hey Knucklehead, last time I checked, I don't eat the same sugary, decay-promoting shit everyone else consumes," Amara barked back, turning in her seat as she did so. "Besides, I repair whatever decay does eat away at my teeth naturally."

"That may be true, but your breath smells like dogshit. Rory's getting at how it's an inconvenience to everyone else around you," X added, slightly lifting his head as he spoke before lowing it once again.

Amara's eyes narrowed inquisitively. "Are ya usin' dogshit as a comparison since I-"

"Does it really matter if I am or not? **Bottom line: brush more often,** " X interrupted.

Amara promptly shut up and turned back around in her seat. She breathed on her hand before holding it up to her nose. Her entire body shuddered intensely. "Wow, it's really that bad? Damn," she muttered.

There, in a corner of the room darkened by an uncertain force, stood a man who looked much similar to Akashi Himura. The man wore fancy, almost Victorian-styled attire dyed a crimson hue worn over a white undershirt fitted with a crimson necktie, which matched with blood-red eyes that shone through the darkness like beacons of danger as they surveyed the room. Upon his black-haired head lied a wide-brimmed crimson hat, which was promptly plucked from his head by a pale, fragile hand. He looked up, hair trailing down to his neck's nape and a pair of black, dog-like ears sprouting from his head as they rose in surprise.

"Got your hat!" the cheery, innocent looking woman paraded with a playful tone and smile. She fluttered away giggling.

The fierce-looking man turned his gaze to Ulrich, not even letting out a grunt of frustration at having his hat abducted.

"Oh Sweet Exitia, doth return Gent Akaho's hat. We art in much too small of a room for thou two to playeth Keep-Away," Ulrich said in an almost fatherly tone without so much as looking away from his book.

"Sorry Mister Senft. I just got a little bored," Exita lamented as she glided back over and placed the hat back on Akaho's head.

"We art in a place of great import and prestige. Thou two can play to thy hearts' content when we return to our abode," Ulrich returned with a gentle voice as he turned a page of his tome.

"What spell are you studying up this time?" The white-haired woman asked, taking note of the text upon the spine of the book that read as indecipherable symbols and hieroglyphs to her.

"Is it a destructive one?" The black-haired woman followed with an almost crazed look in her eyes.

"Doth thou not think I holdeth enough spells and incantations of demolishment Lady Em Nemes?" Ulrich answered and gave a light chuckle. He turned his head to look at the bodysuit-bound woman. "Though I probably should focus on that Omni-Directional Barrier of Spell Feasting spell after this hast concluded,"

"Then what are you studying?" the white-haired woman asked.

"Are you even studying anything at all?" the black-haired woman, Em Nemes, asked.

"I'm nary schooling myself in anything at the tid Lady Eve Nemes," Ulrich answered, turning his gaze to the woman clad in heavenly robes before turning back to his tome. "In mine tid as a human, I found reading a most enthralling pastime. Tis through reading I've also developed a few new spells undocumented and unthought of, I'll have thou know."

* * *

The door leading out of the room glided open, the slight creaking of the hinges drawing everyone's attention. Before the doorway stood three figures lined horizontally, giving a full view of each.

The central member of the three was a fairly tall man donning long, crimson hair. Sharp blue-green eyes gave off an aura of aristocratic authority while at the same time seeming gentle and caring. The clanking of a gold and black armored cloak, as decorative as it was intimidating, draped over a garb befitting one of higher society was heard as he approached the table stationing the mercenaries.

"Alright: Ulrich Senft, Amara Sesminis, Akaho, X, stand at attention," announced a shorter man donning vibrant, borderline glowing, blue-eyes and black chin-length hair to the right of the crimson-haired man. He slid a light-skinned hand into the pocket of his black tracksuit adorned with white stripes along the seams and, with the other hand, adjusted a ragged and tattered off-white scarf around his neck that trailed like a tail down to his calves.

Despite the man's unintimidating appearance being more akin to that of a house cat than a mighty lion, the words he spoke in his oddly suave voice were enough to get the listed individuals to their feet.

"Verily, King Kalari." Ulrich promptly manifested a blue bookmark made of pure magical energy onto the page he was reading before closing his book and standing up, adjusting his eye wear as he did so.

Amara stood up from the table without hesitation, hands resting against it and holding her up. Her red tail wagged much akin to that of an excited hound and her eyes trained on the blue-eyed man.

Akaho, despite already standing at this time, made his way towards the three from his dark corner without so much as a word. He stopped midway down the table and the shadows of the corner he left seeped into his body through his garb like a haze of black smoke.

X unenthusiastically stood up from the table with a long exhalation from his nose. He, once again, adjusted his cravat tie before tucking his hands into the pockets of his suit.

"I need you guys to stand for this as well," said a taller woman to the left of the crimson-haired man bearing piercing, yet entrancing amber eyes and long, silky black hair. She motioned, with a gentle smile and with a pale hand, for the rest to stand before dropping her hand down beside her white dress adorned with black accents while her other hand adjusted one of two white, horn-like hairpins.

Like so, the beautiful woman's gentle words caused the rest who were sitting to stand and some others to turn towards the three.

Em Nemes stood up, her black bodysuit squeaking against itself as she moved before crossing her arms over her chest. Continued squeaking came from the shifting of her hips.

Eve Nemes simultaneously stood up, threading her hands together before her robes as she patiently awaited further instruction. Her malformed eye, though fitting for her sister, shredded her holy image.

Rory left the comfort of the windows and made his way towards the table, rowing his arm as if searching for a pop in his shoulder before smashing a fist into his palm.

Jaecar, being the closest to the door and thus having his back turned to it, had to turn his massive frame around once he stood up. His footsteps, though brief, were loud and mighty.

Exitia floated over and above the table. She hovered in the air with knees held up to her chest and a warming, wholesome smile uncaring of the possibility of someone seeing up her dress, which dangled in a revealing manner as a result of gravity's influence.

"Understood, Kataga," Kaiyou said before promptly standing up and bowing to the woman with hands held to the waist of her blue kimono, its wave-like patterns dancing as she moved.

With everyone standing before the three, the crimson-haired man closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before releasing a sweeping exhalation. He then donned a smile and a frivolous glint in his eyes.

"We managed to crack the captives. They spoke of a Fallen Angel organization by the name of Exagorastés that they worked for. From what they said, this organization has no affiliation with any other group or faction we know of and that they were going on an independent 'crusade' to regain their holy status by slaughtering all Devils and other Fallen Angels not of their group," the crimson-haired man announced.

"A band of overzealous renegades? Not what I'd normally call a problem, but I suppose it has to be something if you're strung out about it," X scoffed.

"Any names?" Jaecar asked.

"No, but we were told there are numerous Cadre-class Fallen Angels running the ranks: including some now-fallen members of Pre-Fall Grigori," the crimson-haired man answered.

"In that case, they might just be a huge pain in the ass after all," X retracted, not all too excited about this news.

"As for the course of action?" Ulrich inquired.

"I will attempt to get into contact with the Faction leaders and warn them of the looming threat. You all have done your jobs; you deserve a rest," the crimson-haired man answered.

"But what if they attack? Shouldn't we be on guard?" Amara asked, not so much dreadful as she was excited as shown by her toothy grin.

"No, that won't be necessary. They planned on attacking Kuoh and only Kuoh because of some… relic they needed from there. Plus, we already have Paradise Lost monitoring the place with a close eye. If anything goes wrong, he will handle it," the crimson-haired man explained before he turned his back to the table and began walking towards the door while the other two, Kataga and Kalari, stayed where they were.

"Did they spill when their allies be rearin' their faces?" Rory asked.

The man turned himself around, his eyes cutting to the fiery-tempered man. With a smile, he spoke.

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot to tell you of that."

* * *

 _ **And that's the extra chapter. The longest chapter so far being followed by the shortest chapter so far: a neat little coincidence. That being said, I hope this doesn't make it seem like I wasn't trying when writing this chapter.**_

 _ **An update to my schedule: Since, until further notice, I'm hassled with work (college and job-wise) from 11:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. from Mondays through Thursdays, my work on this story may be slowed even more than I would've hoped. Though this does pile on to the list of my incompetencies, I've got to pay off my debt somehow. Yep, despite me finally crawling out of my troublesome situation, it came at a price. That's life, I suppose. Thankfully it's not much and should be payed off around the next two months if I keep myself in line.**_

 _ **As for the review response thing I proposed in the previous chapter, I'll probably avoid as I am unsure if any of you want your reviews plastered on the top of the page for all to see. That, and it would bloat my word count more than I already am with these little ending margins and disclaimers.**_

 _ **That concludes Volume 2. It's hard to believe I've already been working on this story for roughly two years. Whether that's an indicator of my laziness or general inexperience I will leave up to you to decide. Thank you all for helping nurture my fondness for writing. Since I can't express my gratitude enough through simple thanks, I owe it to you to keep at my writing until this story comes to a close.**_


	23. Volume 3:Life 0

**_Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve._**

 ** _I will try to replicate the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability, but I can't promise that the characters will behave exactly like they do in the source material as I plan on tweaking some minor side characters a tad._**

 ** _There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story._**

 ** _To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit._**

 ** _I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely._**

* * *

 _ **A Gift… A Shard.**_

In a plane separate from reason hovers a light, watching on as a single seam within a surrounding cloud of twinkling realities begins to fade to black. It growls in an almost displeased manner, causing an accompanying cloud of figures of varying shapes and sizes to tremble out of both fear of the deific being and as effect of the very force of the low growl. The light, despite not having a face nor body to speak of, unmistakably turns towards a hooded figure carrying a corpse of an unidentified, hound-like being.

"Is there a problem, my Anomalous Lord?" the figure spoke to the light.

 **"I have changed my mind on this one. I feel it would be more interesting to let it continue on than to let it reset. The actors still have some potential for my amusement,"** the light spoke as the realm before it teetered on the brink of utter annihilation.

The hooded figure kneels down, holding the corpse up as if it was a sacrifice.

A shard broke off from the light and hovered towards the corpse. Upon contact, it flooded into the body and gave it power immeasurable. It stood back up, alive and well once again, with glowing eyes and mouth of an intolerable brightness. The hound walked into the blackening rift.

Soon after, the shadows engulfing the rift began to fade. It faded until it was as bright and luminous as the other twinkling dots surrounding the star-like light. The might of a single blessed mutt was enough to bring this realm back from the verge of destruction.

From the rift, the shard of light gifted to the dog floated back towards its progenitor, its host nowhere to be found. The shard merged itself with the light.

Another hooded individual approached the light, kneeling before it immediately.

 **"My Apostle. I trust you have found the Vessel,"** the light spoke.

"I regret to say otherwise, my God. Forgive me," the figure spoke with a light, male voice.

 **"Then why have you reported to me with your task unfinished?"** the light questioned, a rumble in its voice accompanied by mighty force.

"I may not have found the Vessel as of yet, but I have triangulated which division of the cosmos it is in," the figure answered.

 **"So, you wished to update me on your progress? You should've stated so,"** the light spoke, its voice mellowing out in all areas except its resonating power. **"** **I must remember that** **y** **ou are new, so I can't expect you to perform as well as my other Apostles. That being said, don't expect my leniency to be limitless. I chose you for a reason; I expect you to follow through with your end, lest I cast you out to the infinite expanses to be torn asunder by the abominations of this plane."**

"Thank you, my God. I shall return to my search," the figure spoke before a rift opened from behind. The figure turned towards it.

 **"Before you leave, I have yet to bestow you with your own Shard. For that, I must apologize,"** the light spoke, a fragment of itself breaking away and hovering towards the figure. It refined itself to form an eldritch eye before it merged into the figure's being. **"You will need it for when you find** **my** **Vessel. Without it, you will surely perish.** **With it, you can also call upon me for power** **and** **directions among other things** **. Do note that I** **can be fickle and may not even answer** **. You,** **like all of my Apostles,** **are part of this divine** **orchestration** **;** **therefore,** **entertaining me is one of your requisites for being in my grace.** **"**

"A gift and an apology from you are far more than I could ever ask for in my existence, but I will most certainly commit that to memory. Thank you, my God," the figure spoke before entering the rift, the ripple in time-space closing behind it.

* * *

 _ **It may take me a while before I actually start writing Volume 3. The reason for this is that I have yet to come across my missing notes, so I may have to start again with them. As expected, that could take a decent amount of time ignoring the other responsibilities I am to tend to. I apologize for any disappointment.**_

 _ **As always, thank you all for reading this far.**_


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